Health

By Sandee LaMotte and Virginia Langmaid, CNN The rate of body mass index change in children nearly doubled from March to November 2020 compared to the rate of BMI change before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study published Thursday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s report on morbidity and mortality. The

By Maggie Fox and Madeline Holcombe, CNN Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted unanimously to recommend emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s booster shot six months after full vaccination in Americans 65 and older as well as those at high risk of severe Covid-19. That vote came after the group had

By Maggie Fox, CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration start meeting early Friday to discuss whether Americans need booster shots yet. It’s a simple question but one that has become bogged down in politics and turf battles. It’s sometimes seemed to put the FDA’s independence at odds with a White House

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN It’s not clear if or when boosters doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be OK’d for fully vaccinated people in the United States, but state and local health departments across the United States are moving ahead with plans for a potential rollout next week. Last month, US health officials announced plans for

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN As we head back to work, we again come face to face with delicious diet-breaking temptations we were able to avoid at home. Office snack tables are often decorated with sweets from “well-meaning” coworkers. Vending machines are full of cheap, highly processed chips, candies, cookies, ready-made sandwiches and sugar-packed sodas. Even

By Megan Marples, CNN “3, 2, 1, ready or not, here I come!” Children race through the park, soaking in the sun while they search for their next hiding spot in the latest round of hide-and-seek. When that playtime can happen, it’s often the best part of a child’s day. That all counts as exercise

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN Weeks of deliberation are coming to a head Friday when the US Food and Drug Administration meets to discuss Covid-19 boosters. But the science of the vaccine’s effectiveness will not be up for debate, one expert said. There is widespread agreement that the vaccines are primarily intended to reduce hospitalizations and

By Maggie Fox, CNN Clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines should include examination of any possible effects on women’s menstrual cycles — if only because so many women are worried about possible problems, a British expert argued Wednesday. But there’s also evidence the immune response prompted by both vaccines and viral infections can temporarily affect menstrual

By Maggie Fox, Jacqueline Howard and Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN Three reports published Wednesday support the argument that people may need a booster dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine over time, and suggest such boosters would be safe. The reports are part of a batch of data that will be discussed Friday by vaccine advisers to the

By Maggie Fox, CNN The US National Institutes of Health said Wednesday it’s starting a $470 million study to try to understand what’s become known as long Covid—the long-term, sometimes serious effects of Covid-19. The study will aim to include 30,000-40,000 people and will make use of digital data — including input from wearable devices,

By Arlette Saenz, CNN The US government is buying more doses of monoclonal antibody treatments for Covid-19, and the Biden administration is taking over distribution in order to avoid shortages of the key therapeutics. The moves come as demand for monoclonal antibodies has increased as cases surged due to spread of the Delta variant and