PHILADELPHIA — There's not a whole lot of mirth in the halls of health care right now. COVID-19 has everybody pretty down, and going for medical tests is never anyone's idea of a fun time.

Pennsylvania Hospital's Cardiology Department, however, just might be the exception. On any given day, you're likely to hear chuckles — perhaps even a ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thinking about intentionally exposing yourself to the coronavirus?

Thinking that you'll probably get away with a mild case and become immune to COVID-19?

You need to think again. Even if you're fully vaccinated.

If you get COVID on purpose, there's no guarantee you'll only get a little sick, though the contagious omicron ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom made guaranteed health care a central piece of his gubernatorial campaign some four years ago, promising specifically to deliver a single-payer system that would give every resident free access to comprehensive treatment.

In an April 2018 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, however, Newsom did what he's done on ...Read more

More than 800,000 rapid COVID-19 tests passed their expiration date recently in a Florida warehouse, prompting concerns that they would go to waste.

But the manufacturer, Abbott, obtained a three-month extension on the expiration date after supplying additional data to the FDA.

Such tests — which work by detecting antigens (pieces of viral ...Read more

The phrase "you are what you eat" is commonly used in conversations about health and the connection between food and the body. Eating an unhealthy diet can have serious consequences and can increase someone's risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a preventive cardiologist ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Along with everything else, COVID-19 is also creating problems with our teeth.

That’s what dentists say after treating patients who are under stress during the pandemic and taking it out on their teeth. According to local providers and the American Dental Association, dentists have seen more stress-related oral health conditions ...Read more

The world was abuzz in late December of 2019 and early January 2020 with the news of human-to-human spread of COVID-19. It would not be named COVID-19 until Feb. 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization.

Patients were confirmed in China, Thailand and the United States, and soon many other countries. More than 5 million worldwide have died ...Read more

Q: When should my kids get their COVID-19 booster?

A: Vaccines are our best hope to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A vaccine now is available for children ages 5 and up, and boosters have been authorized for some older children. Clinical trials are under way for a vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years.

Research shows the COVID-19 vaccines ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The suspension of Orange County’s Dr. Raul Pino — after urging his health department staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — is the most blatant example yet of the state’s increasingly tight muzzle on health authorities fighting the pandemic, critics say, making Florida one of the most repressive in the nation when ...Read more

The U.S. hasn't yet reached a national peak in the surge of the omicron variant. But experts say it is coming soon. COVID-19 cases are beginning to plateau in certain parts of the country.

Mayo Clinic's Predictive Analytics Task Force has been tracking COVID-19 cases in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts have been ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Tricia Poreda recently walked inside a COVID-19 testing center on Chicago's Northwest Side and was immediately appalled by the facility’s lack of basic health and safety protocols.

Employees collecting specimens weren’t changing gloves or washing hands in between patients, she recalled. The site didn’t seem to be enforcing ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Once daylight saving time ends, I find it difficult as it gets darker earlier. I also notice that I get a bit more depressed in the winter. My friend suggested a light box for seasonal affective disorder. What is a light box? And can it be helpful in improving my mood?

ANSWER: Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of ...Read more

What are the odds of catching COVID-19 after a night at the movie theater? How about an afternoon at the gym, unmasked? Or an early morning jog in a neighborhood park?

It’s well known that certain places and activities carry varying risks of coronavirus exposure, but a new study takes away much of the guesswork, offering clear estimates ...Read more

ROCHESTER, Minn.— World Cancer Day is February 4 and that makes this the ideal time to talk about lung cancer and smoking. Internationally, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths and the World Health Organization estimates that 90% of cases could be prevented by eliminating tobacco use.

People who smoke are at the greatest risk...Read more

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, when physicians were grappling with the unknown like everyone else, psychiatrist Angela Reiersen recalled that an old drug in her field, called fluvoxamine, affected the body in ways that went beyond improving mental health.

In addition to easing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, ...Read more

As a pulmonary and critical care physician in Southern California treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19, I am noticing a rising tension. Beyond just being overwhelmed, we are now part of the collateral damage.

I recently asked a security guard to accompany me and an ICU nurse to meet the family of an unvaccinated 42-year-old firefighter ...Read more

While all women can develop cervical cancer, non-Hispanic Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to white women in the U.S.

This disparity is not due to genetic differences among white, Black or Hispanic women, but rather related to systemic racism, access to health care and socioeconomic factors, says ...Read more

January is National Blood Donor Month, which makes this a good time to become a blood donor.

Nearly 16 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S., according to the American Red Cross. Daily needs include 29,000 units of red blood cells, 5,000 units of platelets and 6,500 units of plasma.

People need a blood transfusion for ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am in my mid-30s and a mom of twins, and it seems that I recently developed what must be an overactive bladder. It hinders my daily activities and makes me feel embarrassed, as I often must excuse myself abruptly. I wake up multiple times at night, too. Sometimes I also seem to leak urine. Are these conditions common for ...Read more

PUNE, India — Amanjit Singh’s father, a family doctor, was ordered to reopen his clinic as early cases of COVID-19 were spreading in Mumbai. Within days, his father — gasping for oxygen at home — was dead. Two days later, so was his mother.

Left to fend for himself, the 17-year-old Singh set out to collect the compensation the ...Read more