Month: June 2021

In the past six months, we've all witnessed the near-miraculous effectiveness of the vaccines against COVID-19  and President Joe Biden's success at turning the joke of Donald Trump's vaccine plan into a well-oiled machine. Anyone who wants the shot in the U.S. can get it. Yet, despite an initial surge of interest in vaccines in the mid-spring, there's been a drastic drop-off in vaccination rates just ahead of Biden's Independence Day goal for a return to summer grilling.  "The United States is averaging fewer than 1 million shots per day, a decline of more than two-thirds from the peak of 3.4 million in April," the Washington Post reports, noting that "[s]mall armies of health workers and volunteers often outnumber the people showing up to get shots at clinics" in more conservative areas...

"Carving out time for a satiating, balanced lunch can really help organize the eating day and keep us in better touch with our actual hunger cues," said registered dietitian nutritionist Tamara Duker Freuman. "So we can eat when hungry and be less likely to snack our way through the entire workday." Even if it's just for 30 minutes or so, a midday lunch break "will help to avoid a late afternoon slump and keep you energized throughout the afternoon," said registered dietitian nutritionist Lisa Young, author of "Finally Full, Finally Slim." Skipping lunch can cause more than hunger pangs, low blood sugar and irritability. It will also almost guarantee that you consume the majority of your calories in the evening. That can wreak havoc on your waistline and health, according to Freuman...

Novavax trial. Karen Ducey/Getty Images A COVID-19 vaccine different from those made by Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer could be available to Americans "as soon as this summer," NPR reported on Sunday. The three vaccines currently authorized for use in the U.S. work by instructing the body to manufacture something that looks like a piece of the virus, but isn't. Then, if ever infected with the real virus, the immune system is prepared. The new protein subunit vaccine, however, already contains that all-important bit, known as the spike protein, meaning the body doesn't have to produce it on its own. What's more, the protein subunit vaccine doesn't require "special refrigeration," and also contains an "adjuvant" that makes the shot "even more protective," per NPR. The technolo...

Two U.S. experts have penned a damning essay saying that science strongly suggests the novel coronavirus was manufactured inside a Chinese laboratory.   The claim was made by Drs Stephen Quay, CEO of biopharmaceutical company Atossa Therapeutics Inc, and Richard Muller, a physics professor at the University of California Berkeley, in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. In the op-ed, the men say their proof lies in genome sequencing, or analyzing the DNA, of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. There are 36 DNA segments - made up of three-letter 'words' - that viruses use to make an amino acid known as L-arginine. L-arginine helps make proteins but is also often used in so-called 'gain of function' research, which alters viruses to make them more transmissible and more deadly. The ne...

An analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found some of us increased our consumption of unhealthy snacks and desserts, including chips, cookies and ice cream, while also guzzling more sugary drinks such as sweetened coffee and teas, regular sodas, fruit drinks, and sports or energy drinks. Over a third (36%) of the nearly 4,000 Americans who were surveyed in June 2020 reported sometimes consuming more unhealthy snacks and desserts than before the pandemic, while 22% said they sometimes drank sugary drinks. However, 16% said they ate snacks and sweets often or always, while 10% said the same of sugary beverages. People who reported consuming the most unhealthy foods and drinks were more likely to identify as Hispanic or Black and be younger than age 65, obese, female...