TimeMagazine Pfizer-BioNTech said in a statement on July 8 that data from studies looking at the effects of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine are “encouraging.” The companies are testing a third dose of its two-dose regimen—currently permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an emergency use authorization—to see how effective the … Read more
Welcome to COVID Questions, TIME’s advice column. We’re trying to make living through the pandemic a little easier, with expert-backed answers to your toughest coronavirus-related dilemmas. While we can’t and don’t offer medical advice—those questions should go to your doctor—we hope this column will help you sort through this stressful and confusing time. Got a … Read more
The Olympics and COVID-19 were never going to be compatible. The cardinal rule when it comes to controlling an infectious disease is to limit the contact people have with one another. Yet the very essence of the two weeks of competition, which begin on July 23 in Tokyo, is to invite the world to meet, greet … Read more
The pseudo-scientific formula that explains most human bonding is basically time + affection + togetherness = relationship. So what happens to humans and their interconnectedness when two of the key elements—time and togetherness—are removed or increased? Can digital communication replace human to human contact? How do couples cope with stressful events they have never before … Read more
Portland food cart co-owners Eric and Nicole Gitenstein didn’t have much choice about whether to open their business during this week’s unprecedented heat wave plaguing the Pacific Northwest. Excess heat from their refrigerators and burners often raises temperatures inside their cart, MF Tasty, 10 to 15 degrees higher than those outside. With area temperatures peaking … Read more
As infections involving the new Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus continue to increase around the world, including in the U.S., health experts are yet again revisiting advice about who should wear masks and when. On June 28, the Los Angeles County public health department advised all people, including those who are vaccinated, to wear … Read more
Juul Labs reached a $40 million settlement with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein this week, agreeing to limit its sales and marketing practices to quell underage use of its potent e-cigarettes. The settlement is also part of an “ongoing effort to reset our company and its relationship with our stakeholders” and “earn trust through … Read more
Walmart Inc. will offer its own brand of analog insulin for people with diabetes, an effort to boost its pharmacy business and counter Amazon.com Inc.’s recent push to sell more medications. The world’s largest retailer will begin selling ReliOn NovoLog this week in its U.S. pharmacies with a prescription, Walmart said in a statement Tuesday. … Read more
(DURHAM N.C.) — Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales, according to a landmark legal settlement announced Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. A state judge accepted the first-of-its-kind agreement … Read more
As if the already worrisome Delta variant, first identified in India, wasn’t concerning enough, now there’s Delta Plus. The latest variant of SARS-CoV-2 was announced by Indian health officials in late June, and labelled by the Indian government as a variant of concern. By June 24, only about 40 cases of Delta Plus infections were … Read more