COVID-19 Archive

A 2024 study found that people who exercise regularly are much less likely to get COVID-19 or be hospitalized with it, compared with people who don't exercise regularly. That's because exercise keeps the immune system strong and able to fight off infection. Exercise enhances the ability of white blood cells to do battle; stimulates the production of antibodies in the lining of the nose, throat, breathing tubes, and lungs; and keeps the immune system from overreacting to infections and harming the body.

People who received a COVID vaccine during the first two years of the pandemic had a lower risk of developing long COVID, according to a 2024 study.

In a 2024 study, people who reported eating plant-based diets were 39% less likely to have had COVID-19, compared with people who said they were meat eaters.

A 2023 study of 1.5 million people found that those who had uncontrolled high blood pressure or diabetes prior to getting COVID-19 had increased risks for COVID complications (such as hospitalization or being on a ventilator), compared with people whose high blood pressure or diabetes was well controlled.

Most cases of chest pain don't signal heart problems. While chest discomfort of any kind should never be ignored, many conditions can trigger it. These include gastroesophageal reflux disease, gallstones, asthma, ulcers, anxiety, COVID, esophagus spasms, costochondritis, pulmonary embolism, pleurisy, aortic dissection, and pericarditis. Chest pain is likely to be unrelated to the heart if it's brief, triggered by eating, doesn't worsen with exercise, occurs only with movement, coughing, or breathing deeply, or it's localized to one spot.

The CDC estimates that 3.3 million Americans have myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, a tricky-to-diagnose illness. Here we share one story about living with that illness from the Health Story Collaborative, which helps people delve into the healing power of narrative.

Who should get COVID vaccine boosters and when will remain in flux for at least another year. This summer, the FDA instructed the vaccine makers to have the next COVID vaccine target the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. The CDC will be issuing specific recommendations by October, but infectious disease experts expect the newer vaccine to provide the most benefit for people over 65 and those younger with chronic conditions.

Learn which vaccines can help protect you against serious illness and hospitalization from RSV, COVID, and the flu this fall.

Tens of millions of people who've had COVID-19 suffer with persisting symptoms. The condition is called long COVID. Symptoms, such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and disrupted sleep, can seriously impair the ability to function at work and at home. Vaccines and antiviral drugs appear to offer some protection against getting long COVID. But more information is needed. The National Institutes of Health has committed over $1 billion to discover how to better diagnose, effectively treat, and ultimately prevent long COVID.

COVID-19 may increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure, up to a year after the infection. But vaccination appears to lower these risks. Getting just one dose of a COVID vaccine may halve the risk of myocarditis, a rare condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscle that can arise after viral infections.