Preparing For More COVID

Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci testifies during a hearing before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of House Appropriations Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 11, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images



Dr. Anthony Fauci has a sober warning for Americans: Don’t be surprised if a new, more dangerous Covid variant emerges this upcoming winter.

“We should anticipate that we very well may get another variant that would emerge, that would elude the immune response that we’ve gotten from infection and/or from vaccination,” Fauci said at an event with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism this week.

Statistically, pandemic trends like hospitalizations and deaths are currently down nationwide: The seven-day moving average of new Covid deaths in the U.S. is 323 as of Wednesday, for example. 

That’s far lower than the country’s 1,000 to 2,500 in February and March, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

READ MORE...

Long COVID

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey 2022; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals

Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to CDC data released Wednesday.

Why it matters: Nearly three years into a pandemic that has left millions newly disabled, medical researchers continue to search for an effective treatment.

The big picture: Long COVID symptoms can include shortness of breath, cognitive difficulties and symptoms that worsen even with minimal physical or mental effort — a primary indicator of chronic fatigue syndrome.

The pandemic sharpened the focus on the once largely dismissed area of chronic fatigue in health care, but misunderstandings and stigma persist.

Up to 4 million people are estimated to be out of work because of long COVID symptoms, according to a Brookings Institute report in August.

While long COVID is classified as a disability, qualifying for Social Security benefits requires proof that the condition has or will last a year, even though there's no test to diagnose long COVID, per CDC.

Eating Oatmeal Everyday

It's a good thing medical experts recommend oatmeal as a healthy breakfast—there's so much you can do with a container of oats. You can enjoy them warm, soak them overnight, bake them into bars or muffins, or even blend them into a waffle batter. 

Yet besides such delicious versatility, why exactly do health experts recommend oatmeal as a go-to morning meal? How does a simple bowl of oats affect your long-term health? Here's what the science says about consuming oatmeal on a regular basis.


Oats are a great source of fiber, a carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. Because fiber slows down digestion, you won't feel as hungry for a longer period, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eating fiber-rich foods helps avoid spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels while reducing feelings of hunger. 

"Having oats for breakfast or incorporated into different foods as meals and snacks is a great way to give the meal more staying power and help you feel fuller for longer," says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN. 

According to the USDA's FoodData Central, 1 cup of cooked oatmeal contains 4 grams of fiber, which is 16% of the recommended daily value.

You'll Have an Easier Time in the Bathroom
"Oats contain a special type of soluble fiber called beta-glucan," says Michalczyk. "Beta-glucan forms a gel-like consistency in the gut and helps to keep things moving in your digestive tract and keep you regular." 

This helps with bulking up your stool, making it easier for your bowel movement later. Plus, pairing your oatmeal with sources of insoluble fiber—like unpeeled sliced apples, nuts or blackberries—can also help keep things moving in your digestive tract and make things easier in the bathroom later.  READ MORE...

New Covid Cases Rising

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ashish Jha says the “vast majority” 

of COVID-19 infections aren’t being counted.   GETTY IMAGES

While fears may be growing that another COVID-19 surge will be upon us in the coming months, there is some indication that the future is now.

There’s a reason data show that, while the U.S. positivity rate of COVID tests has spiked to five-month highs, and hospitalizations have steadily climbed to four-month highs, new daily COVID cases have held steady for the past couple of months.


The new cases are being undercounted because results of widely available at-home tests aren’t being reported for government tabulation. The Fourth of July holiday has also caused reporting delays. And many states have stopped providing daily updates, as the New York Times reported.

“There’s no question in my mind that we’re missing a vast majority of infections right now,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said on NBC’s “Nightly News with Lester Holt” on Thursday. “The truth is, there are probably several hundred thousand, four or five hundred thousand, infections today happening across the country.”

That would put the daily case count at levels seen during the January surge of the omicron variant. The current outbreak is now mostly the result of the fast-spreading BA.5 subvariant, named the dominant strain this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  READ MORE...

Walking Lowers Blood Pressure

Can walking lower blood pressure? 

While we’ve long known that walking brings with it many health and wellbeing benefits, including strengthening our bones and muscles and helping us to maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat, it turns out that the walking perks don’t stop there.

According to a paper published in Current Hypertension Reports(opens in new tab), regular physical activity is associated with lower blood pressure and therefore reduced cardiovascular risk. 

And walking to control your blood pressure, whether it be in the great outdoors or on one of the best walking treadmills, is no different.

Dr. Mahmoud Al Rifai, a member of the American College of Cardiology(opens in new tab), tells us: “We frequently advise our patients to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and that can include walking.” And it’s not hard to see why.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(opens in new tab) (CDC), hypertension (the more formal term for high or raised blood pressure) affects 47% of people in the US. 

With the CDC estimating that only one in four adults with hypertension have their condition under control, finding a reliable and consistent way to keep your blood pressure within healthy limits is more important than ever.  READ MORE...

Alcohol in Your Body

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of adults in 2018 drank alcohol. How much obviously varies, but no one wants to end the day with a DUI because they mistakenly believed they were sober when that was not the case.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an abundance of factors contributes to how long alcohol stays in your system. Misunderstanding these factors makes it difficult to tell whether you’re legally safe to be behind the wheel and can lead to tragic consequences.

How long does alcohol stay in your system?

Healthline.com says how long alcohol stays in your system is dependent upon age, weight, whether you’ve eaten food recently, medications, liver disease and the time between drinks. One cup of beer may stay in one person’s system longer than it will for someone else with a different weight.

The ability to metabolize alcohol slows as you age, health.clevelandclinic.org says. Alcohol will have heightened effects on those with lower weights and smaller body sizes. If you’re drinking on an empty stomach, then the effects of alcohol may be enhanced. Different medications can have dangerous side effects when paired with alcohol. Any present liver conditions can harm your ability to handle alcohol and process it. Binge drinking in a short period will also increase the effects of alcohol, all according to health.clevelandclinic.org and healthline.com.

A shot of liquor is estimated to metabolize in an hour, a pint of beer in two, a glass of wine in three, and several drinks could take multiple hours, according to healthline.com.

The NIAAA estimates that one drink would be metabolized and out of your system after three hours, two drinks after slightly over four hours, three drinks by six hours and four drinks by seven. The NIAAA goes on to state that this is, again, dependent on the factors above.

As for driving, healthline.com advises: "The safest thing you can do is not get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking."  READ MORE...

Monkeypox Outbreak in US

On June 13, a man in New York began to feel ill.

"He starts to experience swollen lymph nodes and rectal discomfort," says epidemiologist Keletso Makofane, who's at Harvard University.

The man suspects he might have monkeypox. He's a scientist, and knowledgeable about the signs and symptoms, Makofane says. So the man goes to his doctor and asks for a monkeypox test. The doctor decides, instead, to test the man for common sexually transmitted diseases. All those come back negative.

"A few days later, the pain worsens," Makofane says. So he goes to the urgent care and again asks for a monkeypox test. This time, the provider prescribes him antibiotics for a bacterial infection.

"The pain becomes so bad, and starts to interfere with his sleep," Makofane says. "So this past Sunday, he goes to the emergency room of a big academic hospital in New York."

At this point the man has a growth inside his rectum, which is a symptom of monkeypox. At the hospital, he sees both an ER doctor and an infectious disease specialist. Again, the man asks for a monkeypox test. But the specialist rebuffs the request and says "a monkeypox test isn't indicated," Makofane says. Instead, the doctor speculates that the man might have colon cancer.  READ MORE...

Restore Hearing

According to a new study, scientists have uncovered a single master gene that programs ear hair 

cells into either outer or inner ones, overcoming a major hurdle that had prevented the 

development of these cells to restore hearing.

‘We have overcome a major hurdle’ to restore hearing, investigators say.

• Gene discovery allows the production of inner or outer ear hair cells 
• Death of outer hair cells due to aging or noise cause most hearing loss 
• Master gene switch turns on ear hair cell development

Hearing loss caused by aging, noise, and some cancer therapy medications and antibiotics has been irreversible because scientists have not been able to reprogram existing cells to develop into the outer and inner ear sensory cells — essential for hearing — once they die.

But Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a single master gene that programs ear hair cells into either outer or inner ones, overcoming a major hurdle that had previously prevented the development of these cells to restore hearing, according to new research published today (May 4, 2022) in the journal Nature.

“Our finding gives us the first clear cell switch to make one type versus the other,” said lead study author Jaime García-Añoveros, PhD, professor of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience and in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology. “It will provide a previously unavailable tool to make an inner or outer hair cell. We have overcome a major hurdle.”

About 8.5% of adults aged 55 to 64 in the U.S. have disabling hearing loss. That increases to nearly 25% of those aged 65 to 74 and 50% of those who are 75 and older, reports the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  READ MORE...

Flawed Research on Calories

According to a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of Americans are trying to lose weight at any one time. 

The majority say exercise and eating less are the primary means of their attempted weight loss. Sadly, a majority of individuals trying to lose weight will fail at their attempts, gaining all or more weight back over time.

Now, a new review of our understanding of weight gain indicates that people are not necessarily failing at diets, it’s the diet message of moving more and eating less that doomed their efforts from the start. 

Oversimplification of the calories-in-versus-calories-out message, the authors argue, has led to a nation where almost more than 1 in 3 adults (roughly 42%) are considered to have obesity and the numbers are only getting worse.

Hormonal changes are the primary driver of excess fat storage
The paper, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition offers an alternative model to the eat-less-move-more message and argues that success in weight loss, as well as weight-loss maintenance, is more about what you eat and less about how much you eat.

Weight loss, the study found, is all about our hormonal response to certain macronutrients. Study authors include several of the most prominent nutrition scientists in the country.  READ MORE

Cannabus Linked to Heart Attacks

Frequent cannabis use among young adults was associated with an increased risk — albeit low — of a heart attack, researchers found, adding that more data is needed to confirm the results.

Findings published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal drew from an annual CDC-led survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), among 33,173 adults aged 18 to 44, of which 4,610 reported recent cannabis use. 

Study authors found that recent cannabis users were more likely to have a history of myocardial infarction, or heart attack, at 1.3% (61 of 4,610 cannabis users), compared to people who didn’t use cannabis, at 0.8% (240 of 28,563 nonusers). 

Participants who reported using cannabis over four times each month, with smoking as the main route (versus vaporization or edibles) were more likely to have a history of a heart attack.

"Increasing cannabis use in an at-risk population could have negative implications for cardiovascular health," study authors wrote.

Survey participants were asked how many days they consumed cannabis in the prior month, and whether a doctor or nurse ever informed them of a heart attack. The study indicated that males, unmarried respondents, cigarette and e-cigarette users and heavy drinkers were more likely to report recent cannabis use.  READ MORE

Fall Allergies

As summer comes to a close, millions of Americans can reportedly expect the fall allergy season to be in "full force" this year.

According to AccuWeather meteorologists, fall allergies are often triggered by ragweed and the presence of mold.

"Fall allergies are typically triggered by ragweed, and the pollen from these types of plants that are common in North America can travel as far as the wind carries it," AccuWeather wrote. "Another cause of fall allergies is mold, which can grow in piles of damp leaves."

The Philadelphia Inquirer said Monday that ragweed plants are expected to produce pollen to torment residents over the next couple of weeks.

"In purely coincidental sync with the hurricane season, this is the peak period for the ragweeds," the paper wrote, noting that the impact of climate change – and drought in the West – has extended pollen season by pushing back first-frost dates.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says shifts in precipitation patterns, more frost-free days, warmer seasonal air temperatures and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can affect the length of pollen season, how pollen impacts human health and how much pollen plants create.  READ MORE

Increase in Diabetes

Diabetes surged among American children, teens and adolescents to 2017, according to new federally-funded research spanning nearly 20 years finding a 45% increase in type 1 diagnoses, and a 95% growth in type 2 diagnoses.

"Increases in diabetes are always troubling – especially in youth. Rising rates of diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, which is preventable, has the potential to create a cascade of poor health outcomes," Dr. Giuseppina Imperatore, chief of the Surveillance,

Epidemiology, Economics, and Statistics Branch in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, said in a statement issued Tuesday. "Compared to people who develop diabetes in adulthood, youth are more likely to develop diabetes complications at an earlier age and are at higher risk of premature death."

Findings published in JAMA on Tuesday indicated that Type 1 diabetes persists as the most common type of diabetes among U.S. youth. Results stemmed from an average of 3.5 million Americans under age 20 studied on a yearly basis from 2001 to 2017 across areas of California, Colorado, Ohio, South Carolina, Washington State, Arizona and Mexico. 

Results indicated significant increases in type 1 diabetes among Americans 19 years or younger, from 1.48 per 1,000 young people to 2.15 per 1,000 by 2017, or a 45% increase over 16 years, whereas the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among kids aged 10-19 increased from 0.34 per 1,000 youths to 0.67 per 1,000 youths, or a 95.3% increase over 16 years.

Study authors noted no significant differences in the increases in diabetes prevalence across sexes.

The study found the largest increases in type 2 diabetes were among Black and Hispanic youth, with increases in the estimated prevalence of type 1 diabetes greatest among Black and White youths. Kids under age 9 with type 2 diabetes were excluded from the study due to small sample sizes.

Diabetes is a chronic health condition impacting how the body converts food into energy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease."  READ MORE

Obesity in America

FROM THE Centers For Disease Control and Prevention...


Adult Obesity Facts




Obesity Prevalence Maps
Adult obesity prevalence by state and territory using self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease

The US obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2017 – 2018.

From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –2018, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.

Obesity-related conditionsexternal icon include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. These are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death.

The estimated annual medical cost of obesityexternal icon in the United States was $147 billion in 2008. Medical costs for people who had obesity was $1,429 higher than medical costs for people with healthy weight.

Obesity affects some groups more than others

[Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data brief]

Non-Hispanic Black adults (49.6%) had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of obesity, followed by Hispanic adults (44.8%), non-Hispanic White adults (42.2%) and non-Hispanic Asian adults (17.4%).

The obesity prevalence was 40.0% among adults aged 20 to 39 years, 44.8% among adults aged 40 to 59 years, and 42.8% among adults aged 60 and older.

Obesity and socioeconomic status

[Read the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)]

The association between obesity and income or educational level is complex and differs by sex and race/ethnicity.

Overall, men and women with college degrees had lower obesity prevalence compared with those with less education.

The same obesity and education pattern occurred among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women, and non-Hispanic White men. However, the differences were not all statistically significant. Although the difference was not statistically significant among non-Hispanic Black men, obesity prevalence increased with educational attainment. 

No differences in obesity prevalence by education level were noted among non-Hispanic Asian women and men and Hispanic men.

Among men, obesity prevalence was lower in the lowest and highest income groups compared with the middle-income group. Researchers observed this pattern among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic men. Obesity prevalence was higher in the highest income group than in the lowest income group among non-Hispanic Black men.

Among women, obesity prevalence was lower in the highest income group than in the middle and lowest income groups. Researchers observed this pattern among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Asian, and Hispanic women. Among non-Hispanic Black women, there was no difference in obesity prevalence by income.