Thanksgiving healthcare news and wellness updates

Welcome to the Dr. B Weekly Roundup, a curated weekly overview that cuts through the noise to deliver vetted reads on Covid-19 and beyond.  Whether you’ll be gathering with a large group of loved ones or sinking into a solo celebration, the Dr. B team wishes you a peaceful + healthful holiday weekend. To keep things simple, this week’s newsletter shares the latest Covid-19 news and resources to help you nurture yourself + others throughout the dizzying weeks ahead. Cheers!

• The Checkup: slow + steady holidays
• Covid-19: boosters + kids + data
• On Our Blog: Covid-19 + holiday prep

The Check-Up: 

• Here’s another excellent guide to Covid-19 holiday precautions
• Support your immune system this winter with an intentional schedule
• Shame dieting increases during the holidays—please don’t fall for it
• Monkeypox is being misdiagnosed in CIS women. What to look for
• Treat your doctors extra nice this season—they’re burning out
• It’s no surprise, but the pandemic has caused a spike in home births
• For those battling long Covid, treatment options remain unclear
• Watch Jonah Hill + his therapist discuss life in his new documentary
• There’s trouble ahead for the 10% of kids not vaccinated for measles
• Finding someone to remove an IUD should not be this complicated
• When traveling for the holidays, make sure to de-stress your body

The latest: pandemic

Covid-19 boosters could keep thousands of kids out of hospitals, but uptake remains low (CNN). Less than 5% of school-age children are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. If those numbers met flu vaccinations (50%-60%), we could avert 38,000 hospitalizations + 22 million missed days of school. Sure, transmission rates are lower than a few months ago. But three times the number of children were admitted to hospitals with Covid-19 last week than the week before. Add the flu and RSV, and more than 75% of pediatric hospital beds are unavailable nationwide. (Here’s a scary story on how that can play out for newborns.) Eek.

Who is dying from COVID19? (Your Local Epidemiologist). Summarizing the latest Covid-19 Data Review, epidemiologist + CDC consultant Katelyn Jetelina points out that deaths from Covid-19 have declined significantly in the past few months. (Good news!) But Covid-19 remains the 3rd cause of death in the U.S. Those above 65-years-old are most at risk—especially if not fully vaccinated—and Indigenous Americans + Alaskan Natives make up a disproportionate number of those deaths. Men are dying at higher rates than women. And there’s disparity amongst treatment distribution, too. Read the review for more specifics.

Covid depression is real. Here’s what you need to know. (NY Times). The pandemic has created a melting pot of distressing situations that can lead to mental health problems. But those who get Covid-19 are even more vulnerable to major depressive disorder—a risk that continues up to a year after recovery. This is because the coronavirus triggers inflammation, disrupts the brain’s cell lining and compromises the gut’s microbiome, which can affect neurotransmitters that regulate mood. Read the article for more about risks, warning signs and treatment options.