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FRIDAY, Aug. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The Delta variant is proving just as infectious for children as for everyone else, with pediatric cases surging in some parts of the United States, pediatricians and children's hospitals say.However, it's not clear yet whether the variant is any harsher on kids compared to earlier COVID-19 strains, leading to more hospitalizations and brushes with death rather than just the sniffles.Child cases of COVID-19 steadily increased throughout July, as Delta became the dominant strain in the United States, according to tracking data kept by the Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).More than 71,700 COVID-19 cases in people under the age of 18 were reported between July 22 and July 29, with kids and teens...

FRIDAY, Aug. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- I think I've had COVID-19 already, so do I really need two doses of vaccine?It's a question millions of people around the world are asking, and now a small, new study finds that people who know they were infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the past may need only one shot of the Pfizer vaccine to gain strong immunity. In fact, "we observed higher SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in previously infected individuals after 1 dose of [the Pfizer vaccine], compared with infection-naive individuals after 2 doses," concluded a team led by Dr. James Moy, of the division of allergy and immunology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.What's more, giving previously infected people a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine did little to boost their antibody levels...

FRIDAY, Aug. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- All 2.2 million health care workers and long-term care workers in California will now have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30, the California Department of Public Health said Thursday.Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said health care workers would have the choice of either getting vaccinated or undergoing weekly testing, but the state health department's order does not give them a choice, the Associated Press reported.The order was issued as the most populous state in the country struggles to slow infections caused by the highly contagious Delta variant, the AP reported.There will be exceptions for religious beliefs or for those who can't get vaccinated due to qualifying medical reasons that are confirmed with a note signed by a...

FRIDAY, Aug. 6, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- In the more than 30 years he worked as a dispatcher for a relative's trucking company, Andy Thoman was never late. So when his sister, Amy Brammer, discovered he hadn't made it to his job, she knew something must be wrong."If he was going to be someplace, he would have let me know," she said.Already on her way to work, Brammer instead drove to Thoman's house near Indianapolis. A cousin met her there. They found his back door open and his dog, Alex, an American Dingo, in the backyard.Fearing the worst, they entered the house and found the bathroom door closed. When they tried to open it, they realized Thoman was slumped against the other side.Paramedics arrived within minutes, forcing the door open and loading Thoman into the...