infectious disease

This month marks one year since the coronavirus pandemic swiftly upended daily life in the United States. In 2020, March brought about emergency declarations and indefinite school closures, followed by record unemployment claims and dozens of stay-at-home orders. By the end of the month, millions of people were either told to stay inside under lockdown or continue carrying out work deemed essential to keep society running.

Experts look into a new study that claims wearing a neck gaiter may be worse than no mask at all. And they discuss other face coverings such as goggles and plastic face shields.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories abound, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent "FEMA camps" — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites.

All U.S. states require most parents to vaccinate their children against some preventable diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella and whooping cough, to be able to attend school. Such laws often apply to children in private schools and day care facilities as well as public schools.But this winter's outbreaks of measles across the nation are resulting in challenges to many exemptions: At least eight states, including some that have experienced measles outbreaks this year, want to remove personal exemptions for the measles vaccine. And some states would remove the exemption for all vaccines.

A large study of Danish kids finds that childhood infections are linked with a higher risk of developing some mental illnesses. The risk is highest in the months immediately following the infection.

Is your destination too dangerous? How do you protect yourself from health threats? With its tropical beaches and a memorable national park, Venezuela was a popular destination for American tourists a decade ago. But years of political and economic turmoil have left its tourism industry in tatters.