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New pandemic-era stress scale aims to help identify at-risk adults, kids FamVeld/ iStock CIDRAP

A new study from researchers at Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) at the National Institutes of Health shows how a stress scale developed to identify who was most at-risk of needing mental health support during the pandemic has the potential to evaluate traumatic stress reactions to ongoing large-scale threats.

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Study: 1 in 7 Americans have had long COVID iStock CIDRAP

A new investigation led by researchers from the University College London and Dartmouth College suggests 14% of Americans had long COVID by the end of 2022. The details of the investigation are published in PLOS One.

Moreover, Americans who report having experienced long COVID said they also experienced more anxiety, low mood, and difficulty with memory. ...

Covid pandemic ‘had lasting impact’ on brain health of people aged 50 or over UK study finds cognitive function and working memory in older adults declined even if they were not infected with virus The Guardian

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Study: Paxlovid safe, effective in pregnancy EmiliaU / iStock CIDRAP

A study based on 211 pregnant women given the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir and ritonavir (Paxlovid) during pregnancy for acute COVID-19 infections shows no increased risk of adverse events in the women or their babies and a reduced risk of complications called the maternal morbidity and mortality index (MMMI).

The findings, published today in Nature Medicine, suggest the drug is safe to use in pregnancy and is effective in reducing MMMI risk but not COVID-related hospitalizations.

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