I’ve been dodging COVID since March 2020. Back then, I would have been appalled at having asymptomatic doctors and nurses infected with COVID treating patients, which state officials now say is permissible.

Now I see this as a necessity.

We’re losing this war.

Omicron is surging in huge numbers, a wave bred in the unvaccinated, the ...Read more

ROCHESTER, Minn. — People who use electronic cigarettes and test positive for COVID-19 have a higher frequency of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, compared to people who don't vape, according to new research from Mayo Clinic.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, finds that people who vape and test ...Read more

As the new year rolls on, sticking to a healthy lifestyle doesn't hinge only on days spent at the gym.

With goals in mind and a checkup with your health care provider, 2022 could be one of the best years for your mind and body.

____

Is your health a priority in the new year?

Dr. Stephen McMullan, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Every morning, Dr. Justin Fiala rides a CTA bus along Lake Shore Drive, and it feels like going into battle. Before the pandemic, stepping onto a bus was just a commute to work. He and other Chicagoans headed into the city together, toward busy downtown offices and mask-free cubicles.

Now, he wears an N95, and his 5 a.m. bus rides ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: With COVID-19 continuing to be a concern, should I stock up on at-home COVID-19 tests so I don't have to wait in long lines to get tested elsewhere? What kind of tests are sold over the counter, and what should I know before purchasing them?

ANSWER: The emergence of the new omicron COVID-19 variant has increased the number of ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dr. Raul Pino, who became a trusted voice of the pandemic response in the nation’s tourist capital, has been placed on administrative leave from his post as the state’s chief health officer in Orange County as the Florida Department of Health conducts an investigation.

Sources who spoke to the Orlando Sentinel on condition...Read more

WASHINGTON — The federal website to order free rapid coronavirus tests went live on Tuesday, ahead of its scheduled Wednesday launch.

Covidtests.gov is an attempt by the Biden administration to remedy nationwide shortages of such at-home tests, with the president pledging the government will provide millions of such kits to Americans for free...Read more

Americans can begin ordering rapid COVID-19 tests from the federal government free of charge.

You can now order your free COVID tests from COVIDTests.gov, and the federal government will send them out at no cost to you — including no shipping fees. A half-billion tests will be available for order at first, with an additional half-billion on ...Read more

If you need to test for COVID-19, Mayo Clinic health experts remind you not to go to the emergency department for testing. Emergency departments are for patients with life-threatening health care needs.

"Emergency departments are an important part of the overall health care system," says Dr. Laura Walker, an Mayo Clinic emergency medicine ...Read more

Dear Healthy Men: My wife and I have been trying for seven months to have a child but haven’t had any luck. We’ve got an appointment scheduled with my wife’s OB, but I’ve been reading about how sperm counts around the world are down and I’m wondering whether our trouble conceiving could be on my end. Is that possible?

A: It’s ...Read more

Q: I think my baby has undescended testicles. Is this a cause for concern, and what can be done about it?

A: Before birth, a baby boy's testes (testicles) develop inside the abdomen. Closer to delivery, these organs travel through a canal in the groin. When all goes as it should, the testicles then fall into place in the scrotum, the bag of ...Read more

You look in the mirror and notice you're going bald. It's a reality that many men must face.

Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, says there's a reason why many men lose their hair as they age. And in some cases, there are solutions.

"You can have androgenetic alopecia," says Dr. Davis.

It's a genetic condition also known as male- or ...Read more

California, which has shown the determination to go it alone in areas such as environmental protection, scientific research and workers' rights when its values conflict with policies at the federal level, is moving forward with its most audacious effort yet.

That's a plan to create a universal single-payer health care system.

Called CalCare, ...Read more

MIAMI -- Everyone thought it odd when Nino Pernetti called the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2020, to say he was skipping the annual New Year’s Eve dinner at his landmark Coral Gables, Florida, restaurant of more than 30 years, Caffe Abbracci.

He injured his ankle while playing his daily round of tennis, he told his friends, family and staff at the ...Read more

Jay Reinstein and Michele Hall wouldn't seem to most people like they would be in danger of suffering from a disease typically associated with aging.

Reinstein is just 60 years old, and Hall is 54. Both of them have young adult children. Yet both already struggle with driving, and they can no longer work because their minds don’t function as ...Read more

CHICAGO -- As the super-contagious omicron variant sweeps Chicago, pushing case count graphs vertical, some people who assumed they were safe from infection after they got their vaccines are entering a new psychological stage of the pandemic: a sense that infection is unavoidable.

“It’s so much more contagious,” Maggie Coons, 52, of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Red Cross is currently experiencing what it's calling "the worst blood shortage in over a decade."

Always in need of blood, the nonprofit said that the combination of the relentless pandemic and an unusual flu season have exacerbated the preexisting shortage. Overall donations have dropped 10% since March 2020. Students ...Read more

January is Thyroid Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn more about Hashimoto's disease.

Hashimoto's disease, also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disorder where your immune system creates antibodies that damage your thyroid gland. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck. Your thyroid...Read more

Stephen Kavalkovich serves on the planning board of his Burlington County, New Jersey, hometown, where he also became an emergency medical technician, began his recovery from opioid addiction, and founded a shamanic practice called Ancient Healing Pathways.

"The word shaman means someone who sees in the dark. I've had a lot of dark, and my own ...Read more