Health (Page 81)

Several business groups expressed concern about President Joe Biden’s Covid vaccine mandate on Thursday, arguing that the requirements will burden businesses during the busy holiday season as they rush to meet an implementation deadline that comes shortly after New Year’s day.  The mandate, which applies to businesses with 100 or more workers, requires U.S. companies to ensure their employees have gotten vaccinated, or face regular testing, by Jan. 4.  However, all unvaccinated workers must start wearing masks indoors a month earlier on Dec. 5, according to the new rules issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, under the Labor Department. OSHA will also conduct on-site workplace compliance inspections, with penalties for violating the rules ranging from $13,653Continue Reading

Likes and swipes don't always make us feel good. Shutterstock We all do it. Robot-like, we endlessly scroll through social media feeds. To an extent, we even go about our daily lives staring at screens while ignoring the world around us. In fact, evidence suggests a fifth of adolescents spend five or more hours on social media per day. Some even log on after midnight. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are a ubiquitous part of young people’s lives – especially female adolescents. But as recent research suggests, the psychological wellbeing of these young women may be at stake as a result. And our new study, published in the Personality and Individual Differences journal, has identified aContinue Reading

Some countries have managed the global pandemic better than others. The same can be said for cities. But understanding how cities are faring in the fight against Covid is more complicated that comparing infection rates and mask rules. The London-based analytical agency Deep Knowledge Analytics (DKA) examined 114 variables across five categories of pandemic responses: economic resiliency, governance, healthcare, quarantines and vaccinations. The results were published in September in a 116-page report entitled “Covid-19 City Safety Ranking Q2/2021.” In total, DKA analyzed 8,200 data points — up from 1,250 in its first city report published in March — that touched on topics from quarantine lengths and economic support packages to civic resistance among residents. The top 50 cities DKA analyzedContinue Reading

Nor Gal/Shutterstock Over the last few decades, the demand for breast milk has grown. The message “breast is best” has driven parents and caregivers to buy breast milk. Even the unwell, bodybuilders and “clean eaters” are known to use it. Once limited to milk banks and peer-to-peer sharing, a new for-profit milk market has emerged. Companies producing a range of breast milk products are popping up around the globe, including in India, Cambodia, the US and England. These products include formula replacements – designed to be the sole source of nutrition – and other dietary supplements that complement or are added to formula. Breast milk products are often marketed as safer, vegan, better for the immune system and infant development.Continue Reading

New research found exercise reduced students' desire to drink alcohol. oneinchpunch/Shutterstock Alcohol intoxication, particularly in western cultures, is increasingly regarded as a socially acceptable behaviour, and excessive levels of alcohol consumption has been identified as a significant problem among university students. One study found that 45-69% of UK students engage in weekly binge drinking sessions. Now our research has shown that students who exercise are less likely to crave alcohol and can feel more positive. To investigate possible reduction of alcohol abuse in students, we found 60 students aged 18-25 who classified as hazardous, harmful and addictive drinkers using an alcohol screening questionnaire developed by the World Health Organisation. We asked the students questions about their drinking habits, got themContinue Reading

Jamie Blank (L) holds her son, Ari Blank’s hand as he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from healthcare worker Jen Feinberg (R) at the Jewish Federation/JARC’s offices in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on May 13, 2021. Jeff Kowalsky | AFP | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the use of Pfizer and BioNTech‘s Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a move that will make the shots available to 28 million kids in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must sign off before shots can be distributed. It’s scheduled an advisory committee meeting to review the pediatric doses next week and is expected to swiftly clear them for public distribution immediately thereafter. “As a motherContinue Reading