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THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- President Joe Biden is slated to announce an ambitious six-point plan to double down on a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, including more pressure on government, business and schools to implement vaccine mandates, news sources report. A speech outlining the new plan is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, The New York Times said.Speaking Wednesday at a media briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said new efforts to rein in COVID-19 will impact Americans based on whether they've yet been vaccinated or not, CBS News reported."He's going to outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like," Psaki said, "including measures to work with the public and private sector, building on the...

THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- School districts in Florida can require their students to wear masks, despite the governor's order blocking mask mandates – for now at least.A circuit court judge in Leon County ruled Wednesday that the state can't enforce Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on school mask mandates, CBS News reported. "We're not in normal times. We are in a pandemic," said Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper during a virtual hearing, according to The Associated Press. "We have a (coronavirus) variant that is more infectious and dangerous to children than the one we had last year." The question of who can decide mask mandates has been debated since July, when DeSantis signed an executive order that barred school district mandates and allowed parents to decide whether...

THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Workers, take heed: Your place of work can help bring on or exacerbate asthma, a new study suggests.Common workplace triggers include poor ventilation and moldy air conditioning systems, cleaning products and even the toner used in printers, the researchers said. Employees with asthma caused by the office environment often quit, the researchers said, especially if employers don't do anything to correct the problems."All patients with asthma should have work-related causes considered at the point of diagnosis," said study leader Dr. Christopher Huntley. Adjustments, such as reducing or removing exposure to the trigger, can ensure workers will continue employment, he noted."If there is an occupational cause to the asthma, removal from this...

THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- One of the keys to good health could be in the hands of those who decide zoning policies for their communities. Inclusionary zoning policies that provide for affordable housing were associated with lower rates of heart disease for those who benefited from these dwellings, according to a new U.S. study. "Many cities around the country are facing a severe shortage of affordable housing," said lead study author Antwan Jones, an associate professor of sociology at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "Our study suggests that inclusionary zoning programs can help not just boost the supply of safe, affordable housing, but may also reduce the risk of heart disease," Jones said in a university news release. Researchers found that places...