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About one-third of people prescribed drugs to prevent HIV stopped taking the medications when they were forced to stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey finds. The reason, they said: They weren’t having sex. Many discontinued the drugs without their doctor’s say-so, which has experts concerned. “Reducing the number of new HIV transmissions and ensuring access to critical HIV prevention services must remain a public health priority during this challenging time,” said Bruce Packett, executive director of the American Academy of HIV Medicine. The online survey included more than 400 people at high risk of HIV infection who were using what’s called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to protect them from the AIDS-causing virus. Of the one-third who said they stopped the drugs due to shelter-in-place orders, 85% said they weren’t engaging in risky behaviors. That was the same overall rate among respondents. Only 11 respondents said their ability to obtain PrEP was affected by a factor such as lost job/insurance, inability to get a refill from their doctor, or inability to complete laboratory monitoring or testing for HIV or another sexually transmitted infection. More than half the respondents reported no sexual events and no sexual partners, while 89% said they’d reduced the number of sex partners. Ninety percent reported a decrease in the number of sex events, and 88% said they reduced the… read on >

With several potential COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials, U.S. policymakers need to plan for the next hurdle: Ensuring Americans actually get vaccinated. That’s according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. It lays out recommendations for winning the public’s trust of any future vaccine, and helping them access it as easily as possible. The U.S. government’s so-called Operation Warp Speed has laid its goal out: Deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021. As of July 11, 22 vaccines were in some stage of human clinical trials, according to The New York Times coronavirus vaccine tracker. The race to develop a safe, effective vaccine against the new coronavirus has been record-setting. Normally, vaccines take years to move from initial research to approval. In this case, scientists got a boost from having the genetic makeup of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in hand early in the pandemic. Some of the leading vaccine candidates, including the Moderna Inc. vaccine now in clinical trials, are based on that genetic information. “But it’s one thing to make a clinically successful vaccine,” said Monica Schoch-Spana, a senior scientist with the Hopkins center. “It’s another to make it socially acceptable.” Exactly how Americans will greet a COVID-19 vaccine is unknown, but polls have suggested many will be wary. In… read on >

California and Oregon rolled back their reopenings on Monday, two of several states across the country that are struggling to get surging coronavirus case counts under control. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the statewide closure of all bars and halted the indoor operations of restaurants, wineries, theaters and a handful of other venues, the The New York Times reported. “We’re going back into modification mode of our original stay-at-home order,” Newsom said Monday. “This continues to be a deadly disease.” California’s two largest public school districts, in Los Angeles and San Diego, said on Monday that all teaching would remain online in the fall, the Times reported. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown again banned private indoor gatherings of more than 10 people and required face coverings be worn outside, the Washington Post reported. Other hard-hit states are also grappling with how to best slow the rampant spread of COVID-19. In Texas, a top medical adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott said the state may need to roll back its reopening plans and reinstitute a lockdown if cases keep climbing, the Times reported. Dr. Mark McClellan, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told the Times that a lockdown in Texas was a “real possibility” that Abbott may be forced to impose in the next few weeks. “I don’t think we have much… read on >

New U.S. coronavirus cases surged across 37 states on Sunday, with worsening hotspots in the South and West also fueling new daily records for COVID-19 deaths. Florida recorded more than 15,000 new infections on Sunday, breaking the daily record for new cases once held by New York back at the beginning of the pandemic, The New York Times reported. The state also saw single-day records in the counties that include its largest cities — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Pensacola and Sarasota. Five states — Arizona, California, Florida, Mississippi and Texas — also broke records for average daily COVID-19 fatalities in the past week, the Washington Post reported. That marks a departure from the past weeks, when death rates had remained steady even as case numbers rose. Adding to the problem, long delays in testing are hampering efforts to contain future spread of the coronavirus, the Post reported. Many testing sites are struggling to provide results in five to seven days. Others are taking even longer, the newspaper reported, as outbreaks across the Sun Belt have strained labs beyond capacity. And there were signs of new trouble in regions outside current hotspots: Twenty states and Puerto Rico reported a record-high average of new infections over the past week, the Post reported. In the Midwest, cases have been trending upward in every… read on >

Parks can be good for your health, but fear of crime stops some people from using them, a new study finds. Previous research has shown that urban green spaces can lower stress levels, weight and heart disease risk, and that living near a park is linked to fewer days of anxiety and depression. This new study found that New York City residents are more likely to exercise in a park if they live nearby, and the more they do so, the less anxious and depressed they feel — but only if they’re not concerned about their safety. For the study, New York University (NYU) researchers analyzed survey responses from more than 3,800 people. The survey results showed that nearly twice as many New Yorkers who lived within a five-minute walk from a park said they exercised there sometimes or often, compared with those who lived more than 30 minutes away. Frequent park exercisers reported having one fewer day a month with mental health issues, compared to those who rarely or never exercised in their local park. “If we want to make the most of the abundant health benefits parks offer, then we need to make them not only accessible, but also safe for everyone,” said study author Stephanie Orstad, a research assistant professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York… read on >

When you’re outside this summer, be sure to protect yourself from the sun, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and nearly 20 Americans die every day from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Along with using sunscreen and seeking shade, wearing protective clothing can reduce your exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays. “The right sun-protective outfit provides long-lasting protection and works great for all skin types and colors,” Chicago dermatologist Dr. Omer Ibrahim said in an AAD news release. “The key is to look for dense fabrics and dark or bright colors and pair those with the appropriate accessories.” Cover as much of your skin as possible when spending time outdoors. Choose lightweight and long-sleeved shirts and pants and avoid fabrics with a loose or open weave such as lace. Keep in mind that dark colors offer more protection than light colors. Sunglasses with UV protection are also important. Lenses that appear dark may not provide that protection, so read the label. Large-framed or wraparound sunglasses protect better than smaller frames, Ibrahim advised. Wear a wide-brimmed hat that protects your face, neck and ears from the sun. Baseball hats or straw hats with holes aren’t as effective. Wear shoes that cover your feet. If you do wear sandals or flip-flops or go barefoot,… read on >

States across America reported nearly 60,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, setting yet another daily record as the pandemic tightens its grip on a country struggling to reopen. The surge has been largely fueled by states in the South and the West that eased their lockdowns early, The New York Times reported. Single-day case records were set in at least six states on Thursday: Alabama, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Texas, the Times reported. Meanwhile, two states recorded their highest death tolls for a single day: Florida recorded 120, while Tennessee recorded 22. In Texas, a record for new cases was set for the fourth consecutive day, with more than 10,900 infections reported, the newspaper said. Hospitals across the South and West are being flooded with COVID-19 patients and are having to cancel elective surgeries and discharge patients early as they try to keep beds available, the Times reported. In Florida, more than 40 intensive care units in 21 counties have hit capacity and have no beds available. In Mississippi, five of the state’s largest hospitals have already run out of ICU beds for critical patients, the Times reported. Things are also dire in Texas, the Times reported. “The hospitals are full,” said Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, president and chief executive officer of the two-hospital public health system, Harris Health, based in Texas. “We have been… read on >

The COVID-19 pandemic is shaking up America’s approach to addiction treatment, but the fallout hasn’t been all bad, experts say. In-person support meetings either aren’t happening or have been severely curtailed, and addiction centers are facing financial ruin because folks are too afraid of the coronavirus to seek treatment. But paradoxically, people might have better access to addiction treatment than ever before, thanks to the shift to telemedicine across all health care. “Ultimately, I think this will rebound, but not like before,” Fred Muench, president of the Partnership to End Addiction, said of the future of addiction treatment. Muench sees telemedicine as the way to ensure the financial survival of the U.S. network of addiction providers. “We will see the greatest changes in outpatient care, which will truly be a hybrid,” Muench said. “In the future, you will not have to be a telehealth provider to treat digitally — all treatment will have a telehealth component. If not, it will cease to exist. Providers cannot afford to wait to integrate telehealth.” COVID-19 lockdowns forced organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous to shift to web video meetings or teleconferences for their support groups. The pandemic also caused many treatment centers to cut back on their services. More than nine out of 10 addiction centers said they cut back their programs during the lockdown, furloughing or laying off employees,… read on >

Eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods could lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, two new studies suggest. In one study, researchers looked at more than 9,700 people who developed type 2 diabetes and over 13,600 who didn’t. Participants were from eight European countries and part of a long-term cancer and nutrition study. After adjusting for lifestyle, and social and dietary risk factors for diabetes, people with the highest levels of fruit and vegetable consumption were 50% less likely to develop diabetes than those with the lowest levels, the researchers found. Every 66 grams a day (2.3 ounces) increase in total fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Nita Forouhi, of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and colleagues calculated. The other study included more than 158,000 U.S. women and over 36,000 U.S. men. After adjusting for lifestyle and dietary risk factors for diabetes, people with the highest levels of whole grain consumption had a 29% lower rate of type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest levels, the findings showed. In terms of specific whole grain foods, one or more servings a day of whole grain cold breakfast cereal or dark bread was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (19% and 21%, respectively) compared with less than one… read on >

Want to make smoking less attractive to young people? Try taking menthol cigarettes off the market, a new analysis suggests. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavors in cigarettes in 2009 because flavors appeal to youth and young adults, and the agency recently announced that it also intends to ban menthol in cigarettes. To assess what effect a ban on menthol cigarettes would have, Georgetown University researchers reviewed 24 studies on the impacts of restrictions on flavors in cigarettes. Six of the studies examined menthol bans implemented across Canada, 12 assessed the potential effects of hypothetical menthol bans in Canada, the United States and Europe, and six looked at prior bans of non-menthol flavors in cigarettes in Canada and the United States. Based on their review, the researchers concluded that 11%-45% of current U.S. menthol smokers might quit smoking in response to a menthol cigarette ban, while 15%-30% of menthol smokers might switch to e-cigarettes. Menthol smokers quitting or switching to e-cigarettes are more likely to be young adults, and a menthol cigarette ban may reduce the number of youth who start smoking by 6%, according to the researchers. They also found that while overall compliance with the menthol ban in Canada was high, studies into non-menthol flavor bans in the United States found that some retailers continued to sell banned products. The review… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Lockdown Led to Less Sex, Lower Use of HIV-Preventing Drugs: Survey

What If a COVID-19 Vaccine Arrived and Many Americans Said No?

More States Roll Back Reopenings as Coronavirus Cases Climb

New Coronavirus Cases and Deaths Spike Across America

Workouts in the Park? Crime Fears Keep Some Away

How to Protect Yourself From the Sun’s Harmful UV Rays

U.S. Sees Another Record-Breaking Day of New Coronavirus Cases

Pandemic Is Changing Addiction Care, for Better and Worse

Upping Fruit, Veggies, Grain Intake Can Cut Your Diabetes Risk by 25%

Ban Menthol Cigarettes, Lower Smoking Rates?