Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
External link for more info: Vanderbilt University
Although the Omicron variant accounts for 99% of Covid cases in the U.S., it’s far less lethal. Experts say this is the perfect combination that could bring us back to normalcy. It’s likely that life with Covid will start to resemble how we handle the flu.
Medicine in intensive care units has become so technically focused that many doctors believe they’ve lost their connection with the humanity of patients, and a high degree of patients are experiencing post intensive care syndrome.
Many experts believe we have missed our chance to eliminate Covid-19, and that now it is very likely to become an endemic disease--one that persists, though at lower levels, and never goes away. Two noted infectious disease experts discuss what that means for precautions and lifestyles in perpetuity.
Infants, toddlers, and grade school children use many cues to learn language. Some of them are visual, involving seeing the mouth move. Some depend on clearly hearing speech. Both have been impacted by mask wearing during the pandemic. Experts now studying how far behind children are as a result discuss how language develops in children and how it’s been …
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, public health experts have looked to vaccines with the goal of creating “herd immunity.” Now it is clear we will not reach that goal. One of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts discusses how we are missing the target and what it means.
Millions of Americans cannot afford the medications they’ve been prescribed. Many skip doses, split pills or don’t fill prescriptions at all as a result, with sometimes even fatal consequences. Experts discuss the problem and what patients can do to save.
Americans have waited anxiously for the Covid-19 vaccine. Now that it’s being rapidly deployed, how much will it change life for those who’ve received it? Experts answer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that a new, more contagious version of Covid-19 will become the predominant strain by March, testing the new vaccine’s effectiveness. At the same time, researchers are trying to find ways to get the vaccine to more people more quickly by lengthening time between doses, with unknown results. Infectious …
New Covid-19 vaccines won’t be available for most people until spring, and the months until then may have a staggering cost in lives and illness. A noted infectious disease expert discusses probable time lines and events between now and the vaccine’s availability, and how adherence to social distancing and masking could change outcomes.
A Covid-19 vaccine is on the horizon, but while billions have been spent on its development, little has been spent on distribution and there are still many unanswered questions. Experts discuss how vaccine distribution might be carried out, how long it’s likely to take, and the steps needed to make it work.
Researchers have been looking for an already existing drug to quickly take on Covid-19, and apparently, now they’ve found one. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has closed the door on using the malaria treatment Hydroxychloroquine (hy-drox-ee-klor-oh-quin) to treat Covid-19. Then, social isolation has been a lifesaver the last few months, but if it …
Many Americans are impatient with social distancing as a result of Covid-19 despite the success of the tactic. However, reopening the country too quickly could allow the virus to come roaring back, resulting in thousands more deaths and even more economic damage. Two experts explain how the rollout should happen to get us back to work safely.
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