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Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

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A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

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A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Do Touchscreens Make Your Toddler More Distractible?

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Too much screen time can make your toddler more distractible, British researchers warn. The use of smartphones and tablets by babies and toddlers has soared in recent years. “The first few years of life are critical for children to learn how to control their attention and ignore distraction, early skills that are known to be important for later academic achievement,” said lead author Tim Smith, a professor at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London. “There has been growing concern that toddler touchscreen use may negatively impact their developing attention, but previously there was no empirical evidence to support this,” Smith added. To learn more, Smith’s team studied toddlers with different levels of touchscreen usage, assessing them at 12 months, 18 months and 3.5 years of age. At each visit, the toddlers did computer tasks while an eye-tracker measured their attention. Objects appeared in different locations of the computer screen, and researchers monitored how quickly the children looked at the objects and how well they ignored distracting objects. Toddlers with high daily touchscreen use were quicker to look when objects appeared and were less able to resist distraction than those with little or no daily screen time, the study found. Main researcher Ana Maria Portugal, an associate research fellow at Birkbeck University of London, said the team could not conclude,…  read on >  read on >

Exercise Rehab Should Include Stroke Survivors, Study Suggests

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Exercise programs that are standard for heart attack survivors can also benefit people who’ve suffered a stroke, a new pilot study suggests. Researchers found that a three-month cardiac rehabilitation program improved fitness levels and muscle strength in 24 stroke survivors. While the study was small, the researchers said it offers evidence of what’s intuitive: People recovering from a stroke benefit from regular, structured exercise. Cardiac rehab programs have long been offered to people with heart disease. Yet insurance does not cover the therapy for stroke patients. That’s partly because after a stroke, the emphasis is often on rehab for any disabilities a patient might have, said Elizabeth Regan, a clinical assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia. “We haven’t thought enough about the importance of cardiovascular endurance for stroke patients,” she said. After a stroke, people are often in a deconditioned state, so working on fitness and muscle strength is vital. Beyond that, Regan said, exercise can help lower their risk of having another stroke. Unfortunately, research shows that most stroke survivors do not exercise regularly. Regan said that cardiac rehab, which includes supervised exercise, might help people gain the self-confidence they need to exercise on their own. To study the question, she and her colleagues recruited two dozen stroke survivors. They ranged in age from 33 to 81,…  read on >  read on >

Retired Doctors, Nurses Will Be Approved to Give COVID Vaccine, White House Says

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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Retired doctors and nurses are being called to the front lines of the U.S. coronavirus vaccination effort, the White House COVID-19 Response team announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its rules to allow retired health professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots, said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator. The rules, drafted under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, will also be adapted to allow licensed doctors, nurses and health practitioners to administer shots across state lines, Zients said. “We need to increase the number of places where people can get vaccinated, and also at the same time increase the number of vaccinators,” Zients said. “This action by HHS today will help get more vaccinators in the field.” The team also went over other strategies being implemented to increase vaccination rates across the United States, including: Planning the launch of 100 community vaccination centers across the country during February. Arranging to supply vaccines directly to pharmacies. Standing up mobile vaccination clinics to reach under-served communities. Speeding up the production of low-dead-space syringes that can squeeze an extra sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. “I want to level with the public. We are facing two constraining factors,” said Andrew Slavitt, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response team.…  read on >  read on >

Legacy of Racist Neighborhood ‘Redlining’: Fewer Healthy Green Spaces Today

By | | Add a Comment

A racist mortgage appraisal practice used in the United States decades ago has resulted in less green space in some urban neighborhoods today, researchers say. Those so-called “redlined” neighborhoods have higher rates of air and noise pollution, racial segregation and poverty — all of which can contribute to poorer health. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) gave neighborhoods nationwide risk grades that were based on racial makeup and other factors. “Hazardous” areas — often those whose residents included people of color — were outlined in red on HOLC maps. In the decades since, these neighborhoods have seen less private and public investment and have remained segregated. “Though redlining is now outlawed, its effects on urban neighborhoods persist in many ways, including by depriving residents of green space, which is known to promote health and buffer stress,” said study first author Anthony Nardone, a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Senior author Joan Casey called for action to remedy the problem. “Future policies should, with the input of local leaders, strive to expand availability of green space, a health-promoting amenity, in communities of color,” she said. Casey is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, the researchers examined the relationship between HOLC risk grades and…  read on >  read on >

Do Touchscreens Make Your Toddler More Distractible?

By | | Add a Comment

Too much screen time can make your toddler more distractible, British researchers warn. The use of smartphones and tablets by babies and toddlers has soared in recent years. “The first few years of life are critical for children to learn how to control their attention and ignore distraction, early skills that are known to be important for later academic achievement,” said lead author Tim Smith, a professor at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London. “There has been growing concern that toddler touchscreen use may negatively impact their developing attention, but previously there was no empirical evidence to support this,” Smith added. To learn more, Smith’s team studied toddlers with different levels of touchscreen usage, assessing them at 12 months, 18 months and 3.5 years of age. At each visit, the toddlers did computer tasks while an eye-tracker measured their attention. Objects appeared in different locations of the computer screen, and researchers monitored how quickly the children looked at the objects and how well they ignored distracting objects. Toddlers with high daily touchscreen use were quicker to look when objects appeared and were less able to resist distraction than those with little or no daily screen time, the study found. Main researcher Ana Maria Portugal, an associate research fellow at Birkbeck University of London, said the team could not conclude,…  read on >  read on >

Worse COVID Illness May Mean Stronger Immune Protection After

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People who’ve recovered from severe COVID-19 may have stronger long-term immune protection from reinfection than those with milder illness, researchers report. They examined blood samples from 39 COVID-19 patients and 10 people who hadn’t been exposed to the virus (their blood samples were given pre-pandemic). In all, they analyzed the expression of individual genes of more than 80,000 CD8+ T-cells. CD8+ T-cells are immune cells that destroy virus-infected host cells, and “memory” CD8+ T-cells protect the body from reinfection by many types of viruses. Of the COVID-19 patients, 17 had milder illness and weren’t hospitalized, 13 had been hospitalized, and nine ended up in intensive care. The researchers were surprised to find that patients with milder COVID-19 had weaker CD8+ T-cell responses. The strongest CD8+ T-cell responses were in severely ill patients who required hospitalization or intensive care. “There is an inverse link between how poorly T-cells work and how bad the infection is,” study co-author Dr. Christian Ottensmeier said in a news release from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California. He’s a professor at the University of Liverpool in the U.K. and an adjunct professor at the La Jolla institute. The researchers found that CD8+ T-cells in people with mild COVID-19 had signs of T-cell “exhaustion,” in which cells receive so much immune system stimulation to combat viruses that they become less…  read on >  read on >