TimeMagazine

The last two flu seasons in the U.S. were mercifully mild—one of the few silver linings of the pandemic, as COVID-19 mitigation measures likely also prevented many cases of influenza. But our luck may run out this year. Australia, which often serves as an (imperfect) predictor of what’s to come for the U.S., has had … Read more

As new Omicron-specific boosters become available in the U.S., a study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine emphasizes the importance and success of boosters in keeping people infected with COVID-19 out of the hospital. The researchers analyzed data from more than 192,000 adults in 13 U.S. states who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 between January … Read more

One morning around week six of the COVID-19 lockdown, I woke up to discover I’d gnashed a molar-sized crack down the back of my night guard, the device I wear to protect my teeth from the grinding I do in my sleep. I’d worn the acrylic barrier every night for years with minimal erosion, but … Read more

Humans prefer their weather in something of a Goldilocks zone—a not-too-hot, not-too-cold temperature window which not only affects our physical comfort, but also our mood. During heat waves or deep freezes, tempers fray, patience wears thin, and behavior can suffer. Now, a new study in The Lancet Planetary Health, has found that this holds true … Read more

More Americans sought treatment for mental-health disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic than in past years, according to data from the National Center of Health Statistics published Sept. 7. The share of U.S. adults who either reported taking a prescription medication for a mental-health condition or receiving counseling or therapy rose from 19.2% in 2019 to … Read more

Each year, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. try to conceive using in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process through which eggs are fertilized in a lab, then transferred to the patient’s uterus. Even though IVF has become relatively common, it’s not a sure bet: About 70% of people younger than 35 who were … Read more

COVID-19 vaccines were designed primarily to prevent severe disease and death—two purposes for which they continue to work very well. But when the shots first rolled out, many people also hoped they would block or even reverse symptoms of Long COVID, such as fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, chronic pain, and neurological issues. By now, it’s clear … Read more

If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that testing for viral diseases is complicated. Sometimes, the tests are difficult to get, like in the early days of COVID-19. And even if people have access to testing, they might not feel they need it. People with COVID-19 often don’t have symptoms and may … Read more

Health officials say it’s time for most Americans to get another booster dose—this time, with a new Omicron-specific shot made by either Pfizer-BioNTech (for people 12 and older) or Moderna (for adults 18 and older). But should you stick with the vaccine brand you’ve been using, or can you mix and match? Here’s what to … Read more

The FDA and CDC both approved the updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccines last week. The promise of the mRNA vaccine technology platform was always that we could update them quickly. We may finally have achieved an advantage over SARS-COV-2 as the updated vaccine recipe matches the current dominant circulating BA.5 strain (and slow growing BA.4.6 strain) … Read more