The Columbian

Health Wire

Leanna Arcila, 7, is licked by Watson, a therapy dog with the Pawtucket police department, as she receives her COVID-19 vaccination from Dr. Eugenio Fernandez at Nathanael Greene Elementary School in Pawtucket, R.I., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. Even as the U.S. reaches a COVID-19 milestone of roughly 200 million fully-vaccinated people, infections and hospitalizations are spiking, including in highly-vaccinated pockets of the country like New England.

COVID cases spike even as U.S. reaches vaccine milestone

December 8, 2021, 10:38am Health

Even as the U.S. closes in on a milestone of 200 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, cases and hospitalizations are spiking again, including in highly inoculated corners of the country like New England. Read story

Rapid COVID-19 tests show better than expected results in large Baltimore study

December 8, 2021, 8:09am Health

Those rapid COVID-19 tests actually do work pretty well, even if people don’t have symptoms, according to a large new study conducted in Baltimore. Read story

Children, some wearing face masks, enjoy a carousel ride at a Christmas fair in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. The Romanian capital will have three Christmas fairs open for public in the coming weeks and access to the venues will be conditioned by a COVID-19 green pas, proving the holder's vaccination or recovery after the infection.

WHO Europe: Kids in 5-14 age group show highest COVID rates

December 7, 2021, 9:17am Health

The World Health Organization’s office for Europe said Tuesday that children in the 5 to 14 age group now account for the highest rates of reported COVID-19 infection in the region. Read story

FILE - A technician holds a laboratory mouse at the Jackson Laboratory, Jan. 24, 2006, in Bar Harbor, Maine. The lab ships more than two million mice a year to qualified researchers. Eight years ago, a team of researchers launched a project to carefully repeat influential lab experiments in cancer research. They recreated 50 experiments, the type of work with mice and test tubes that sets the stage for new cancer drugs. They reported the results Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021: About half the scientific claims didn't hold up. (AP Photo/Robert F.

Study can’t confirm lab results for many cancer experiments

December 7, 2021, 9:13am Health

Eight years ago, a team of researchers launched a project to carefully repeat early but influential lab experiments in cancer research. Read story

President Joe Biden talks with Iesha Meza, who introduced Biden to speak, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. Biden talked about his administrations plans to lower the costs of prescription drugs, letting Medicare negotiate drug prices, capping how much seniors and people with disabilities have to pay for drugs.

Biden: Bill would cut cost of insulin, other drugs

December 6, 2021, 4:08pm Health

President Joe Biden pledged Monday that his social agenda legislation would deliver tangible savings on prescription drugs for all Americans. Relief that consumers have clamored for is now in sight, he asserted. Read story

FILE - Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert on June 11, 2021. In excerpts released ahead of a speech Monday Dec. 6, 2021, Prof. Sarah Gilbert, one of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, is warning that the next pandemic may more contagious and more lethal unless more money is devoted to research and preparations to fight emerging viral threats.

Scientist behind UK vaccine says next pandemic may be worse

December 6, 2021, 8:14am Health

One of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is warning that the next pandemic may be more contagious and more lethal unless more money is devoted to research and preparations to fight emerging viral threats. Read story

WHO: No ‘doomsday,’ but malaria fight disrupted by pandemic

December 6, 2021, 8:04am Health

The World Health Organization said Monday that the global response to the longtime threat of malaria has taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted health services in many countries, leading to tens of thousands more deaths worldwide last year — as questions remain on the possible fallout this year. Read story