Articles related to PUBLIC HEALTH

Is there a link between climate change and poverty? Does hate affect the risk for chronic health conditions? Is telehealth the model for medicine’s future? Or will something much more ancient be reestablished? How will the Millennial worldview affect how medicine is practiced? This archive of top physician TED talks is worth your while.

When will it end! That’s the thought on most people’s minds when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic that’s now in its third year. But getting to a conclusion and knowing exactly when the world is no longer in the midst of a pandemic might not be clear to medical professionals or the general population. A new article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) argues that pandemic endings are not very obvious and tend to occur when social life resumes in a country rather than with the achievement of vaccination, containment, or other medical targets. The BMJ article also argues that the diligent and meticulous tracking of the coronavirus’ spread might actually make it harder to eventually know when the pandemic has, at long last, ended for good.

Prescription drug prices rise each year in January and July. As we start off the new year, GoodRx Health is reporting that a total of 658 branded drugs have just had their prices increased an average of 4.9%, while 11 generic medications have seen their prices rise an average of 10.3%. That’s less than the 832 drugs that saw their price increase in January 2021. Among the biggest movers are Nucynta, paclitaxel, and Prilosec.

Amy Watson became famous for coining the term “COVID long hauler” to describe people, such as herself, who suffer from the effects of the respiratory disease over an extended period. These long-haul symptoms can include fever, body aches, and fatigue. Watson herself says she rarely goes more than a few hours without suffering a fever, nearly two years after first contracting COVID-19. GoodRx Health chronicles Amy Watson’s story and what it’s like for people suffering from long COVID.

At the outset of the pandemic, biotechnology company Novavax was one of the frontrunners to bring a vaccine against COVID-19 to market. But nearly two years later, Novavax’s vaccine has yet to appear. In a compelling article, the BMJ details the repeated delays and setbacks that have torpedoed Novavax’s once-promising vaccine candidate and rendered it unnecessary now that other vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca flood the global marketplace.

Only 8 of 35 studies could be included in the meta-analysis. Combined, these indicate a 25% risk reduction for physical distancing, 53% for mask-wearing, and 53% for hand washing. The accompanying BMJ editorial explores the possible reasons for the findings and the oddity that so little quality research is available on such an important topic.