simon2579/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Pfizer and partner BioNtech announced they are starting the process to seek full Food and Drug Administration approval in the U.S. for their COVID-19 vaccine. Since December, their vaccine has been distributed in the U.S. under an "emergency use authorization," which is a distinct regulatory status reserved for emergency situations, such as a pandemic. Pfizer is the first COVID vaccine maker to request full approval in the U.S., and it will likely take several months for the FDA to review additional data and make an approval decision. As Pfizer submits the required data for full Biologics License Application (BLA) approval, the FDA will take several months to review the full set of data before granting it. This ... Read More
iStock/koto_feja(NEW YORK) -- A distinguished New Jersey doctor considered a "giant in the field of infectious diseases" has died of COVID-19. Dr. Rajendra Kapila was a professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and was a founding member of the New Jersey Infectious Disease Society. The 81-year-old died in India on April 28, nearly three weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Hindustan Times. Kapila's ex-wife, Dr. Bina Kapila, said he went to India -- where the pandemic is raging -- to help care for his family and had planned for it to be a brief trip, according to ABC New York station WABC-TV. Rajendra Kapila received his medical degree in 1964 at the University of Delhi and ... Read More
Ridofranz/iStock(NEW YORK) -- COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for teens and even younger children appears to be on the horizon. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for teens and children ages 12 to 15 any day now. All people in America 16 years and older are already eligible to receive the Pfizer a vaccine and anyone 18 years and older is eligible for Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. Pfizer, which is currently conducting clinical trials with children as young as 6 months old, has said it will likely seek an emergency use authorization for its vaccine for children ages 2 to 11 in September. Moderna -- which, like Pfizer, received emergency use authorization ... Read More
Yestock/iStock(NEW YORK) -- As COVID-19 began its deadly surge in India last week, Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, a physician in Rochester, Minnesota, tweeted about how he and other doctors of Indian descent felt "both hopeless [and] determined" to help their families and close friends on the other side of the world. Other American doctors like him responded to his tweet, saying they felt the same way about trying to manage care and shipping supplies from thousands of miles away. Rajkumar and his wife, who both work at the Mayo Clinic, are doing everything they can. "We have been inundated with phone calls for help in terms of ... securing hospital beds for people or getting oxygen for people or basically providing ... Read More
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Plus-sized supermodel Tess Holliday is opening up about her struggle with anorexia. In an interview with ABC News' Good Morning America, the mother of two said she was recently diagnosed by a psychologist but has struggled with âdisordered eatingâ most of her life. âI always thought that I overate,â said Holliday. âBut then, people in my life would say, âOh yeah, I ate more than Tessâ and it was almost like I wore it as a badge of honor.â Holliday, who is known for loving and celebrating her curves as a âbody positive activist,â has been receiving support for her honesty from many, but has also been questioned by some online about how she could love ... Read More
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Hispanic people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, and a new study suggests that workplace exposure and the overrepresentation of Hispanics on the front lines of the labor force have contributed to the disparity. Hispanics of working age -- which the study defined as 30 to 69 years old -- died of COVID-19 far more than white people in that age group, according to researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Hispanics accounted for almost 41% of age-adjusted deaths, even though they only make up roughly 19% of the age-adjusted population. The study analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the U.S. ... Read More
PinkOmelet/iStock(DENVER) -- Children make up more than a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in Colorado, bolstered by the spread of more-contagious variants and in-person school activities. In Colorado, children between 0 to 19 account for 26.4% of all cases reported the week of April 25, according to state data. Overall, children make up 16.57% of all infections in the state since the start of the pandemic. Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said highly transmissible variants, the lack of vaccine for kids and loosened COVID-19 restrictions are contributing to the numbers. "Kids under 16 right now are not eligible for vaccination so that's a group that is completely prone to getting ... Read More
MariaGrover/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Birth and fertility rates in the United States dropped to record lows again last year, according to provisional data in a new report published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of U.S. births in 2020 fell 4% from 2019, the lowest level since 1979. The figure is double the average annual rate of decline of 2% since 2014 and marks the sixth consecutive year that the number of births have dropped, according to the report. Both the general and total fertility rates in 2020 also declined 4% from 2019, reaching record lows for the nation. Last year's total fertility rate "was again below replacement -- the level at which a given generation ... Read More
Myriam Borzee/iStock(LOS ANGELES) -- When a woman in her 30s showed up in his Los Angeles County hospital emergency room this week with a fever, racing heart rate and a sore throat, Dr. Darien Sutton said his first thought was that she had contracted COVID-19. But after taking the necessary precautions and conducting tests, it turned out the patient had a routine urinary tract infection. "It was so shocking because at the end of the day, I was like, 'I forgot there are other things that cause fevers, chills and sore throat.' You had to stop and remember other infections are now coming back," Sutton told ABC News. The interaction was another signal that COVID-19 infections are continuing to dramatically ... Read More
narvikk/iStock(OLYMPIA, Wash.) -- Even as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out throughout the U.S., Washington state is reeling from a fourth wave of infections, with hospitalizations surging for people age 40 to 59 -- and among many much younger. Virus cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen since March, and Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week the state had entered its fourth wave. Earlier in April, he'd rolled back three counties to Phase 2 of reopening restrictions. Currently, 40-to-59-year-olds account for the highest number of patients in hospitals, followed by 20-to-39-year-olds, according to state data showing COVID-like-illness hospitalizations, which don't rely on a diagnosis but monitor overall trends. Ryan Erlewine, director of pharmacy and clinical support services at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical ... Read More
Bill Oxford/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden is setting new goals for vaccinations in America, calling for 70% of the U.S. adult population to have at least one shot, and 160 million Americans to be fully vaccinated, by July 4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, as of Tuesday, 105 million Americans are fully vaccinated, while 147 million have had at least one dose. "To hit 70% of adults by July, 4, you need to deliver close to 100 million doses, shots, across the next 60 days or so. Some first shots, many second shots, over the next 60 days," a senior administration official estimated on a call with reporters Tuesday shortly before Biden was set to speak. ... Read More
DusanBartolovic/iStock(NEW YORK) â A vaccination card will be the ticket for a free brewski in the Garden State this month. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a "Shot and a Beerâ program Monday that provides a free glass of beer at participating locations to anyone over 21 who gets their first vaccination dose this month. The plan is part of Murphy's multipronged approach to increasing the state's vaccination numbers and reach its goal of 4.7 million residents vaccinated by the end of June. The program is one of many initiatives taken by city and state governments to get more people vaccinated, and according to a public health expert, they are effective. "We need that push," Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, dean ... Read More
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) â Seventy one fans got vaccinated during the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets basketball game Sunday, marking the latest effort by health departments to make COVID-19 vaccines convenient and even fun. The Bucks game vaccination pop-up, a partnership with the Milwaukee Public Health Department, was open to fans at least 16 years of age and is part of a series of mobile vaccination pop-ups the health department has hosted at community centers, churches, businesses and neighborhood events, according to Emily Tau, a health department spokesperson. The department's focus, Tau explained, is "to proactively bring the vaccine to where people already are in the community, removing any barriers and making it as convenient as possible." ... Read More
Cleveland Clinic(NEW YORK) -- Melanoma Monday is the first Monday of National Melanoma Awareness Month, and with it, comes a reminder to prioritize your skin health. Near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caitlin Jones, a 30-year-old physician's assistant in Ohio, noticed a suspicious-looking mole on her scalp. Like many patients, she was concerned about going for an in-person appointment. But with some urging by her husband, she saw a dermatologist -- and was diagnosed with melanoma. Now, she has had surgery and is melanoma-free, and is grateful she sought medical care. "I thought, this isn't important enough to pursue right now," said Jones. She added that she did not want to be "another patient that didn't have to be ... Read More
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Rebel Wilson shared an emotional life update with fans on Sunday, revealing that she is struggling with fertility. Taking to Instagram, the Pooch Perfect host shared a photo of her walking along the beach and admitted she had some "bad news" to share. "I got some bad news today and didnât have anyone to share it with...but I guess I gotta tell someone," said Wilson, 41. "To all the women out there struggling with fertility, I feel ya." The Australian actress continued, "The universe works in mysterious ways and sometimes it all doesnât make sense...but I hope thereâs light about to shine through all the dark clouds." Comments on Wilson's post have since ... Read More
simon2579/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Pfizer and partner BioNtech announced they are starting the process to seek full Food and Drug Administration approval in the U.S. for their COVID-19 vaccine. Since December, their vaccine has been distributed in the U.S. under an "emergency use authorization," which is a distinct regulatory status reserved ... Read More
iStock/koto_feja(NEW YORK) -- A distinguished New Jersey doctor considered a "giant in the field of infectious diseases" has died of COVID-19. Dr. Rajendra Kapila was a professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and was a founding member of the New Jersey Infectious Disease Society. The 81-year-old died in India ... Read More
Ridofranz/iStock(NEW YORK) -- COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for teens and even younger children appears to be on the horizon. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for teens and children ages 12 to 15 any day now. All people in America 16 years ... Read More
Yestock/iStock(NEW YORK) -- As COVID-19 began its deadly surge in India last week, Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, a physician in Rochester, Minnesota, tweeted about how he and other doctors of Indian descent felt "both hopeless [and] determined" to help their families and close friends on the other side of the world. ... Read More
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Plus-sized supermodel Tess Holliday is opening up about her struggle with anorexia. In an interview with ABC News' Good Morning America, the mother of two said she was recently diagnosed by a psychologist but has struggled with âdisordered eatingâ most of her life. âI always thought ... Read More
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Hispanic people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, and a new study suggests that workplace exposure and the overrepresentation of Hispanics on the front lines of the labor force have contributed to the disparity. Hispanics of working age -- which the ... Read More
PinkOmelet/iStock(DENVER) -- Children make up more than a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in Colorado, bolstered by the spread of more-contagious variants and in-person school activities. In Colorado, children between 0 to 19 account for 26.4% of all cases reported the week of April 25, according to state data. Overall, ... Read More
MariaGrover/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Birth and fertility rates in the United States dropped to record lows again last year, according to provisional data in a new report published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of U.S. births in 2020 fell 4% from 2019, the lowest level ... Read More
Myriam Borzee/iStock(LOS ANGELES) -- When a woman in her 30s showed up in his Los Angeles County hospital emergency room this week with a fever, racing heart rate and a sore throat, Dr. Darien Sutton said his first thought was that she had contracted COVID-19. But after taking the necessary ... Read More
narvikk/iStock(OLYMPIA, Wash.) -- Even as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out throughout the U.S., Washington state is reeling from a fourth wave of infections, with hospitalizations surging for people age 40 to 59 -- and among many much younger. Virus cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen since March, and Gov. Jay ... Read More
Bill Oxford/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden is setting new goals for vaccinations in America, calling for 70% of the U.S. adult population to have at least one shot, and 160 million Americans to be fully vaccinated, by July 4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, as of ... Read More
DusanBartolovic/iStock(NEW YORK) â A vaccination card will be the ticket for a free brewski in the Garden State this month. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a "Shot and a Beerâ program Monday that provides a free glass of beer at participating locations to anyone over 21 who gets their ... Read More
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) â Seventy one fans got vaccinated during the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets basketball game Sunday, marking the latest effort by health departments to make COVID-19 vaccines convenient and even fun. The Bucks game vaccination pop-up, a partnership with the Milwaukee Public Health Department, ... Read More
Cleveland Clinic(NEW YORK) -- Melanoma Monday is the first Monday of National Melanoma Awareness Month, and with it, comes a reminder to prioritize your skin health. Near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caitlin Jones, a 30-year-old physician's assistant in Ohio, noticed a suspicious-looking mole on her scalp. Like many ... Read More
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Rebel Wilson shared an emotional life update with fans on Sunday, revealing that she is struggling with fertility. Taking to Instagram, the Pooch Perfect host shared a photo of her walking along the beach and admitted she had some "bad news" to share. ... Read More
simon2579/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Pfizer and partner BioNtech announced they are starting the process to seek full Food and Drug Administration approval in the U.S. for their COVID-19 vaccine. Since December, their vaccine has been distributed in the U.S. under an "emergency use authorization," which is a distinct regulatory status reserved for emergency situations, such as a pandemic. Pfizer is the first COVID vaccine maker to request full approval in the U.S., and it will likely take several months for the FDA to review additional data and make an approval decision. As Pfizer submits the required data for full Biologics License Application (BLA) approval, the FDA will take several months to review the full set of data before granting it. This ... Read More
iStock/koto_feja(NEW YORK) -- A distinguished New Jersey doctor considered a "giant in the field of infectious diseases" has died of COVID-19. Dr. Rajendra Kapila was a professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and was a founding member of the New Jersey Infectious Disease Society. The 81-year-old died in India on April 28, nearly three weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the Hindustan Times. Kapila's ex-wife, Dr. Bina Kapila, said he went to India -- where the pandemic is raging -- to help care for his family and had planned for it to be a brief trip, according to ABC New York station WABC-TV. Rajendra Kapila received his medical degree in 1964 at the University of Delhi and ... Read More
Ridofranz/iStock(NEW YORK) -- COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for teens and even younger children appears to be on the horizon. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for teens and children ages 12 to 15 any day now. All people in America 16 years and older are already eligible to receive the Pfizer a vaccine and anyone 18 years and older is eligible for Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. Pfizer, which is currently conducting clinical trials with children as young as 6 months old, has said it will likely seek an emergency use authorization for its vaccine for children ages 2 to 11 in September. Moderna -- which, like Pfizer, received emergency use authorization ... Read More
Yestock/iStock(NEW YORK) -- As COVID-19 began its deadly surge in India last week, Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, a physician in Rochester, Minnesota, tweeted about how he and other doctors of Indian descent felt "both hopeless [and] determined" to help their families and close friends on the other side of the world. Other American doctors like him responded to his tweet, saying they felt the same way about trying to manage care and shipping supplies from thousands of miles away. Rajkumar and his wife, who both work at the Mayo Clinic, are doing everything they can. "We have been inundated with phone calls for help in terms of ... securing hospital beds for people or getting oxygen for people or basically providing ... Read More
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Plus-sized supermodel Tess Holliday is opening up about her struggle with anorexia. In an interview with ABC News' Good Morning America, the mother of two said she was recently diagnosed by a psychologist but has struggled with âdisordered eatingâ most of her life. âI always thought that I overate,â said Holliday. âBut then, people in my life would say, âOh yeah, I ate more than Tessâ and it was almost like I wore it as a badge of honor.â Holliday, who is known for loving and celebrating her curves as a âbody positive activist,â has been receiving support for her honesty from many, but has also been questioned by some online about how she could love ... Read More
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Hispanic people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, and a new study suggests that workplace exposure and the overrepresentation of Hispanics on the front lines of the labor force have contributed to the disparity. Hispanics of working age -- which the study defined as 30 to 69 years old -- died of COVID-19 far more than white people in that age group, according to researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Hispanics accounted for almost 41% of age-adjusted deaths, even though they only make up roughly 19% of the age-adjusted population. The study analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the U.S. ... Read More
PinkOmelet/iStock(DENVER) -- Children make up more than a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in Colorado, bolstered by the spread of more-contagious variants and in-person school activities. In Colorado, children between 0 to 19 account for 26.4% of all cases reported the week of April 25, according to state data. Overall, children make up 16.57% of all infections in the state since the start of the pandemic. Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said highly transmissible variants, the lack of vaccine for kids and loosened COVID-19 restrictions are contributing to the numbers. "Kids under 16 right now are not eligible for vaccination so that's a group that is completely prone to getting ... Read More
MariaGrover/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Birth and fertility rates in the United States dropped to record lows again last year, according to provisional data in a new report published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of U.S. births in 2020 fell 4% from 2019, the lowest level since 1979. The figure is double the average annual rate of decline of 2% since 2014 and marks the sixth consecutive year that the number of births have dropped, according to the report. Both the general and total fertility rates in 2020 also declined 4% from 2019, reaching record lows for the nation. Last year's total fertility rate "was again below replacement -- the level at which a given generation ... Read More
Myriam Borzee/iStock(LOS ANGELES) -- When a woman in her 30s showed up in his Los Angeles County hospital emergency room this week with a fever, racing heart rate and a sore throat, Dr. Darien Sutton said his first thought was that she had contracted COVID-19. But after taking the necessary precautions and conducting tests, it turned out the patient had a routine urinary tract infection. "It was so shocking because at the end of the day, I was like, 'I forgot there are other things that cause fevers, chills and sore throat.' You had to stop and remember other infections are now coming back," Sutton told ABC News. The interaction was another signal that COVID-19 infections are continuing to dramatically ... Read More
narvikk/iStock(OLYMPIA, Wash.) -- Even as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out throughout the U.S., Washington state is reeling from a fourth wave of infections, with hospitalizations surging for people age 40 to 59 -- and among many much younger. Virus cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen since March, and Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week the state had entered its fourth wave. Earlier in April, he'd rolled back three counties to Phase 2 of reopening restrictions. Currently, 40-to-59-year-olds account for the highest number of patients in hospitals, followed by 20-to-39-year-olds, according to state data showing COVID-like-illness hospitalizations, which don't rely on a diagnosis but monitor overall trends. Ryan Erlewine, director of pharmacy and clinical support services at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical ... Read More
Bill Oxford/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden is setting new goals for vaccinations in America, calling for 70% of the U.S. adult population to have at least one shot, and 160 million Americans to be fully vaccinated, by July 4. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, as of Tuesday, 105 million Americans are fully vaccinated, while 147 million have had at least one dose. "To hit 70% of adults by July, 4, you need to deliver close to 100 million doses, shots, across the next 60 days or so. Some first shots, many second shots, over the next 60 days," a senior administration official estimated on a call with reporters Tuesday shortly before Biden was set to speak. ... Read More
DusanBartolovic/iStock(NEW YORK) â A vaccination card will be the ticket for a free brewski in the Garden State this month. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a "Shot and a Beerâ program Monday that provides a free glass of beer at participating locations to anyone over 21 who gets their first vaccination dose this month. The plan is part of Murphy's multipronged approach to increasing the state's vaccination numbers and reach its goal of 4.7 million residents vaccinated by the end of June. The program is one of many initiatives taken by city and state governments to get more people vaccinated, and according to a public health expert, they are effective. "We need that push," Dr. Perry N. Halkitis, dean ... Read More
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) â Seventy one fans got vaccinated during the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets basketball game Sunday, marking the latest effort by health departments to make COVID-19 vaccines convenient and even fun. The Bucks game vaccination pop-up, a partnership with the Milwaukee Public Health Department, was open to fans at least 16 years of age and is part of a series of mobile vaccination pop-ups the health department has hosted at community centers, churches, businesses and neighborhood events, according to Emily Tau, a health department spokesperson. The department's focus, Tau explained, is "to proactively bring the vaccine to where people already are in the community, removing any barriers and making it as convenient as possible." ... Read More
Cleveland Clinic(NEW YORK) -- Melanoma Monday is the first Monday of National Melanoma Awareness Month, and with it, comes a reminder to prioritize your skin health. Near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caitlin Jones, a 30-year-old physician's assistant in Ohio, noticed a suspicious-looking mole on her scalp. Like many patients, she was concerned about going for an in-person appointment. But with some urging by her husband, she saw a dermatologist -- and was diagnosed with melanoma. Now, she has had surgery and is melanoma-free, and is grateful she sought medical care. "I thought, this isn't important enough to pursue right now," said Jones. She added that she did not want to be "another patient that didn't have to be ... Read More
Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Rebel Wilson shared an emotional life update with fans on Sunday, revealing that she is struggling with fertility. Taking to Instagram, the Pooch Perfect host shared a photo of her walking along the beach and admitted she had some "bad news" to share. "I got some bad news today and didnât have anyone to share it with...but I guess I gotta tell someone," said Wilson, 41. "To all the women out there struggling with fertility, I feel ya." The Australian actress continued, "The universe works in mysterious ways and sometimes it all doesnât make sense...but I hope thereâs light about to shine through all the dark clouds." Comments on Wilson's post have since ... Read More
