CNN – Health

By Katherine Dillinger and John Bonifield, CNN The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask information for the American public on Friday, including clarifying that certain types of masks and respirators offer more protection from the coronavirus than others and offering tips on what consumers should look for when shopping for them.

By Ashley Strickland, CNN Space travel is known to be notoriously rough on the human body, but new research has revealed just how hard it hits red blood cells. When we’re on Earth, our bodies create and destroy 2 million of these cells per second. In space, astronauts experienced 3 million red blood cells destroyed

By Kristen Rogers, CNN As wintry weather whips across the United States, one challenge may be staying warm if you can’t afford or are cutting back on indoor heating. Staying warm is necessary “for a variety of health reasons” in addition to comfort, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN The Omicron surge has driven Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations to record highs in the United States. This week, however, officials have started to call out very early signs that the wave is peaking — or at least plateauing — in parts of the Northeast. But case rates are still higher in

By Katia Hetter, CNN These days, it’s much easier to contract the coronavirus as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads worldwide. As people face this current reality, it’s important to note that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently changed its guidelines around isolation and quarantine. Many have questions about what to

By Katia Hetter, CNN These days, it’s much easier to contract the coronavirus as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads worldwide. As people face this current reality, it’s important to note that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently changed its guidelines around isolation and quarantine. Many have questions about what to

By Andrea Kane and Nadia Kounang, CNN The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing Covid-19 cases to spike, with an average of more than 747,000 new cases a day, according to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University. That’s almost three times the average daily cases from a year ago, when the country was

By Megan Marples, CNN If you’ve ever considered donating blood, now is the time to take action. Blood donations are absolutely critical right now as the United States faces the worst blood shortage in over a decade, according to the American Red Cross website. Know your blood type? Type O-positive, Type O-negative and platelets are

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Cancer mortality rates have been dropping for nearly two decades, aided by “major progress” in the early detection and treatment options for lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society’s annual report on cancer statistics, published Wednesday. The overall cancer death rate dropped by about a third (32%) from its peak

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN Need to quickly put a name to a face on a company video call? About to play charades online with your new partner’s entire family? Or are you fretting about putting a name to that colleague’s face when you do go back to work in person? One day soon you may

By Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN When the coronavirus pandemic temporarily closed gyms nationwide in 2020, many people opted to do their workouts at home through online instruction. Even after fitness facilities reopened, a good number of individuals elected to stay at home. That’s probably why online training nabbed the top spot in the Worldwide Survey

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN The nation’s top fire official is calling for all hands on deck to save lives by educating the United States about space heater safety this winter. New York City experienced one of its worst fires in the history of the city Sunday when a malfunctioning space heater in a bedroom sparked

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN The nation’s top fire official is calling for all hands on deck to save lives by educating the United States about space heater safety this winter. New York City experienced one of its worst fires in the history of the city Sunday when a malfunctioning space heater in a bedroom sparked

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN The question hung in the air like a bad odor, silencing the small group of fully vaccinated and boosted friends and family at my dinner table. “Why not just get Omicron and get it over with? It’s mild, right? And it can boost immunity?” The fully vaccinated, boosted, well-educated friend who

By Travis Caldwell and Jason Hanna, CNN As a record number of Americans are infected with Covid-19, largely due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, some states’ health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units. Nineteen states have less than 15% remaining capacity in their ICUs. Four of them have less than

By Travis Caldwell and Deidre McPhillips, CNN The number of US patients hospitalized with Covid-19 has hit a record high — a situation straining health care networks and pushing states toward emergency staffing and other measures as they struggle to cope. More than 145,900 people were in US hospitals with Covid-19 as of Tuesday —

By Travis Caldwell, Jason Hanna and Christina Maxouris, CNN The number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 across the US is the highest it’s ever been, pushing officials to enact emergency procedures amid an ongoing case surge fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant. More than 151,000 Americans were in the hospital with Covid-19 nationwide on

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN A 57-year-old Maryland man is doing well three days after receiving a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery, University of Maryland Medicine said in a news release Monday. David Bennett had terminal heart disease, and the pig heart was “the only currently available option,” according to the release.

By Carma Hassan and Katherine Dillinger, CNN A 57-year-old Maryland man who had received a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery has died, the University of Maryland Medical Center said Wednesday. David Bennett died on Tuesday after his condition began to deteriorate several days ago, the medical center said. He was given