Mask Mandates Return to California With Fines and Prison for Violations
Mask mandates have been reinstated in California’s San Francisco Bay area and, depending upon the county, will include health care workers in medical settings, patients and visitors with fines and prison time for violations. Beginning on Nov. 1, 2024 and through the spring of next year, masks will be required in health care settings, including […]
FDA Licenses First At-Home Administered Influenza Vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed the first of its kind live attenuated nasal spray influenza vaccine that can be administered at home. Adults up to the age 49 will be eligible to self-administer the FluMist Home vaccine or give it to their children two to 17 years old as long as […]
Top Killers in America
A study published in 2016 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) identified “medical error” as the third leading cause of death in the United States. Study authors reported that medical errors are responsible for the deaths of about 251,000 Americans each year—up from the nearly 100,000 Americans estimated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in […]
Trust in U.S. Doctors and Hospitals Has Declined Since COVID Pandemic
A 2024 survey study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open found that Americans trust in medical doctors and hospitals declined significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic.1 The 2020 pandemic signified a turning point in the public’s trust in the medical profession that was previously deemed to be a trustworthy profession. […]
Influenza Vaccines Only 42 Percent Effective in Adults This Year
The influenza vaccines currently being administered in the United States are estimated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be 42 percent effective in adults. This is an interim estimate for the 2023-2024 “flu season” published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on Feb. 29, 2024.1 2 3 […]
CDC Recommends Mask Wearing Despite Evidence They Do Not Work and May Cause Harm
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH is recommending that Americans wear masks to help protect against respiratory diseases such as RSV, COVID-19, pneumonia and influenza that federal health officials say are on the rise again.1 Dr. Cohen advised: To protect yourself and your family this […]