Early in the pandemic, way back in May of 2020, we recommended that you purchase a pulse oximeter. At the time, most people hadn’t heard of this device.
It’s a small handheld instrument that clips to the tip of a finger. It measures how much oxygen is in your blood. If you come down with COVID, it can give you a lifesaving warning that your oxygen level is low and you need to get to the hospital. … Read More
News that Merck’s antiviral drug molnupiravir had successfully treated coronavirus patients in clinical trials set off celebrations around the world.
Headlines trumpeted claims that we might finally have a truly effective pill that prevents severe COVID in people who get infected. Shares of Merck stock jumped. One German doctor called molnupiravir “a game changer.”i
A trial involving about 700 people with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 showed that the medication cut in half the risk of hospitalization.… Read More
When COVID vaccines first became available in the U.S. earlier this year, doctors advised that you should not worry about which you got. You should simply take whatever kind you could get first.
But now, it is becoming clear that one vaccine offers stronger protection than the others.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that Moderna vaccine recipients create more COVID antibodies than Pfizer patients do.… Read More
One of the leading causes of death in the United States is health care.
That sounds absurd. But it’s true. Medical errors lead to some 200,000 American deaths a year.
If medical mistakes were a disease, they would be more deadly than Alzheimer’s and diabetes combined.i
That would make medical errors the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer.… Read More
Running may be the perfect sport for the pandemic.
You don’t have to go to the gym. You don’t need any expensive equipment. And it doesn’t require any special skill.
Most importantly, it’s easy to social distance.
So it’s no surprise that running is booming during the COVID crisis.i
The running app Runkeeper reports a 252% increase in customers. And not only are there more runners during the pandemic, but runners are running more often.… Read More
COVID Alert: More Seniors Are Falling. One Exercise Can Help.
About 25% of people between the ages of 50 and 80 say they’ve suffered a fall during the COVID crisis, according to a new study.i
Researchers say it’s because the pandemic is causing seniors to get less exercise, which reduces their physical conditioning. This makes them more likely to suffer an injury-causing fall. … Read More