Because no vaccines or specific treatments are available, governments around the globe have responded to the Coronavirus Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with a variety of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that include sheltering-in-place orders, social distancing, and school and business closures. While the actual and potential harm due to COVID-19 is far more severe than influenza, the harms due to the NPIs-that have clearly reduced mortality due to COVID-19-are also significant. With government-ordered "lockdowns" across the globe, many arguments for and against returning to normal social and economic activity have been reported, and in fact, Americans are divided about how and when to "open up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince the last century, vaccination has been one of the most important tools we possess for the prevention and elimination of disease. Yet the tremendous gains from vaccination are now threatened by a growing hesitance to vaccinate based on a variety of concerns or objections. Geographic clustering of some families who choose not to vaccinate has led to a number of well-publicized outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 30-year-old African-American woman diagnosed in 2006 with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) was seen in the clinic in 2010 and the diagnosis confirmed excluding underlying disorders. Acupuncture was administered bilaterally at the LI4 Hegu acupuncture points for 5 min twice weekly for 2 months, which resulted in improvement in pain severity, joint stiffness and the colour of her fingers and toes. The literature reveals that acupuncture is effective in improving pain severity and joint stiffness in RP.
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