CHICAGO (Reuters)—Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention will consider evidence suggesting that a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines could increase protection among people with compromised immune systems. Data presented ahead of the July 22 meeting noted that people with compromised immune systems have a reduced antibody response following the recommended primary…
CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Gather Unmasked with Others Indoors
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Individuals fully inoculated against COVID-19 can meet in small groups with other vaccinated people without wearing masks, but should keep wearing them outside the home, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on March 8. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a briefing that the agency’s new guidance…
A Public Health Approach to Arthritis: Experts Continue to Raise Awareness of Arthritis Burden
Public health agencies have been raising the profile of arthritis…
Year in Review: The ACR Advances Education, Rheumatic Disease Awareness, Strategic Planning in 2017
It seems like yesterday I was asked to write my first presidential column, and here I am penning my last. It’s incredible how fast the time goes and yet how much gets done. That progress is made possible by the dedicated and talented group of ACR volunteers and staff. This year, the College has had…
Shingles Vaccination Not at Goal Levels for U.S. Seniors
(Reuters Health)—Just one in five people over age 60 in the U.S. have been vaccinated against a painful eruption of herpes zoster (shingles), despite recommendations that all of them should get the shot. It’s estimated that among people over age 50, one in three will eventually develop shingles. After age 80, half of adults have…
California Doctor Gets 30 Years to Life in Landmark Overdose Case
LOS ANGELES (Reuters)—A Southern California doctor was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Friday for over-prescribing drugs that caused the fatal overdose of three patients in a murder case capped by the first conviction of its kind in the U.S. The case against Dr. Hsiu Ying “Lisa” Tseng, 46, comes amid what…
Small Grants Fund Physical Activity to Combat OA
To increase access to community-based physical activity for arthritis patients, the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance has awarded funding to three programs designed to implement evidence-based physical activity programs and osteoarthritis education in their communities…
37,000 U.S. Infection-Related Deaths Preventable Over 5 Years
(Reuters)—Closer coordination between healthcare facilities and public health departments could save 37,000 U.S. lives over five years by preventing infections from antibiotic-resistant germs and from Clostridium difficile, according to a government report released on Tuesday. Germs that no longer respond to antibiotics cause more than 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year in the…
Rheuminations: How Tiny Ticks Have Fueled Outrage and Acrimony in Some Communities
A history of rheumatologists’ efforts to diagnose Lyme disease
Arthritis on the Rise
CDC notes significant increase in arthritis-attributable activity limitation