Public Health

Pfizer shots protect kids from severe COVID even in omicron Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine gave children 5 and older strong protection against hospitalization and death even during the omicron surge that hit youngsters especially hard, U.S. health officials reported Tuesday. AP NEWS

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Excess Deaths Twice as High for Dementia Patients During Pandemic COVID's indirect effects may have affected people with Alzheimer's and dementia more Judy George medpagetoday

Excess mortality was twice as high for older adults with dementia in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic than it was for those without dementia, an analysis of all Medicare enrollees showed.

From March through December 2020, adjusted mortality was 25.7% higher (95% CI 25.3-26.2) among older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias than it was during a similar period in 2019, reported Lauren Gilstrap, MD, MPH, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and co-authors.

Biden Administration Announces Steps to Improve Nursing Home Care Measures include those aimed at increasing staffing and cutting down on unnecessary treatment Joyce Frieden medpagetoday

WASHINGTON -- Nursing home care in the U.S. needs improvement, and the Biden administration is taking steps to do just that, the White House announced Monday.