As individuals continue to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, the United States and the rest of the world are dealing with yet another variant. Omicron is spreading faster than previous mutations, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  U.S. cases are now increasing, but experts suspect that Omicron has been around longer than suspected. Although scientists are still working to understand the nature of this variant, we can still take steps to protect ourselves and decrease the risk of infection and serious illness.  What We Know About the Omicron Variant  The Centers...

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably accustomed to hearing about the phenomenon of long COVID, or long-haul COVID. Perhaps you’ve been personally suffering from persistent COVID-19 symptoms, or you’ve been supporting a friend or family member with the elusive condition. Or perhaps you’ve just been keeping tabs on long COVID news headlines as scientists have raced to learn more about the nature of this illness.  Regardless of where you fall along the spectrum of long COVID awareness, information is power. Here’s what you need to know about long COVID and how to best protect...

During the pandemic, companies around the world quickly shifted to a virtual platform to continue practicing business. This has never been more evident than for healthcare companies who needed to share quickly evolving information during a global health crisis.  In fact, remote attendance has become standard when it comes to medical meetings and conferences. While the world was temporarily resigned to virtual experiences, now there is an equal amount of people who have embraced the virtual model and people eager to come together.  Vaccines are largely mandated for many businesses and large-scale...

As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” and that is true for navigating the holiday season of parties and festivities. It’s essential to enter the holiday season with a plan of mindfulness and moderation. If you go in with the right mindset, you can enjoy that half cup of rum-spiked eggnog without guilt or weight gain.  Part of successful planning is knowing some facts and stats about holiday food and alcohol consumption. For example, according to Harvard Health, by eating just 200 extra calories a day, you could pack on two to three pounds over the five- to six-week holiday...

During the season of giving, toy safety is crucial in protecting children and other gift recipients. To help remind all gift-givers to buy wisely, Prevent Blindness America has designated December as Safe Toys and Gifts Month. Parents and friends of children can take steps to facilitate safe gift-giving this season by making sure the toys they buy for young ones are appropriate and safe.  The Importance of Safe Gift-giving  According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency rooms treated about 224,200 toy-related injuries in 2019. Also, thousands of children 14 years...