Millions of people take low dose aspirin every day to prevent cardiac events… but an influential government task force says you should stop taking them if you’re in your 60’s or older and haven’t had a heart attack or stroke yet. People who’ve already had a cardiac event should keep taking aspirin if their doctor has prescribed them… but the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the bleeding risk is too great in 60’s and up to justify it in those seeking to prevent a first heart attack.
If a person is infected by Covid-19, they carry some immunity as a result. But a study in the journal The Lancet Microbe finds that people with natural immunity don’t have it for very long, probably for three months or less… and if they’re unvaccinated, reinfection with Covid is likely. Researchers say people who came down with Covid early in the pandemic likely have little natural protection remaining by now, especially against more recent variants… so it doesn’t justify avoiding vaccination.
And finally… safe sex is still important… because a quarter of people with a sexually transmitted disease don’t tell their partners. A report by Testing.com finds that older people, women, and those who are less-educated are less likely to reveal that they have an STD. The more committed the relationship, the more an STD is likely to be revealed– half of singles don’t disclose their STD before a one-night stand.
Medical Notes 21-44: Week of October 31, 2021
Millions of people take low dose aspirin every day to prevent cardiac events… but an influential government task force says you should stop taking them if you’re in your 60’s or older and haven’t had a heart attack or stroke yet. People who’ve already had a cardiac event should keep taking aspirin if their doctor has prescribed them… but the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the bleeding risk is too great in 60’s and up to justify it in those seeking to prevent a first heart attack.
If a person is infected by Covid-19, they carry some immunity as a result. But a study in the journal The Lancet Microbe finds that people with natural immunity don’t have it for very long, probably for three months or less… and if they’re unvaccinated, reinfection with Covid is likely. Researchers say people who came down with Covid early in the pandemic likely have little natural protection remaining by now, especially against more recent variants… so it doesn’t justify avoiding vaccination.
And finally… safe sex is still important… because a quarter of people with a sexually transmitted disease don’t tell their partners. A report by Testing.com finds that older people, women, and those who are less-educated are less likely to reveal that they have an STD. The more committed the relationship, the more an STD is likely to be revealed-- half of singles don’t disclose their STD before a one-night stand.
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