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MONDAY, June 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Novavax, a Maryland biotechnology company that has struggled mightily with delays in developing its coronavirus vaccine, announced Monday that its two-shot regimen was over 90% effective overall in a trial that unfolded even as more contagious variants emerged.Among 30,000 volunteers — all of them from either the United States or Mexico — vaccinated people were completely protected against severe and even moderate cases of illness. There were no cases of hospitalization or death among people who received the vaccine, the company reported. Side effects were mild — fatigue, headaches and muscle pain — and reactions tended to be less frequent than those triggered by some already authorized vaccines, the company said."Today, Novavax is one...

MONDAY, June 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A rising number of young Americans, including children, are taking their own lives using firearms, a new study finds.Researchers found that between 2008 and 2018, gun suicides showed an "alarming" increase among Americans aged 5 to 24. And while those suicides remain rare among children, the rate among kids under 15 quadrupled during the study period.It's well known that youth suicide has been climbing in the United States. Last year, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report documented a 57% increase in suicides among 10- to 24-year-olds between 2007 and 2018.The new study looked specifically at suicide by firearms, which account for more than half of suicide deaths in the United States, according to the American Foundation for...

MONDAY, June 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- British researchers report that babies have a strong immune response to the virus that causes COVID-19, based on a new, small study. For the research, the investigators assessed the immune systems of four infants under 3 months of age who had recovered from COVID, and compared them with adults who also had recovered from the disease.Compared to adults, the babies produced relatively high levels of antibodies and immune cells that can specifically protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.That could be why babies seem able to ward off COVID-19 at a time of life when they might be expected to be more vulnerable, according to the authors."By conducting a detailed study on young infants who are relatively protected from severe COVID-19, we have shown...

MONDAY, June 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Parents need to know that COVID-19 shots are safe and effective for kids age 12 and older, an expert says.While the Pfizer vaccine is approved in the United States for emergency use in this age group, parents may need reassurance, said Dr. Jessica Ericson, an infectious disease pediatrician at Penn State Health Children's Hospital in Hershey."The vaccines went through rigorous studies and were found to be safe," she said in a hospital news release. "I know people are worried about long-term effects since the vaccines have been in trials for only nine months to a year, but the majority of side effects happen in the first few days to three months, and we're well past that now."Possible side effects in kids are the same as in adults. They include...