(NEW YORK) — Tamara Walcott, a 38-year-old mother of two from Columbia, Maryland, said that if anyone had told her five years ago she’d be a world champion powerlifter, she would have laughed.
This year, Walcott won the title for the heaviest raw deadlift in the world by a woman after deadlifting 639 pounds.
Her journey to a world title began in 2018 when Walcott took up weightlifting to gain strength.
“I think one of the biggest things that kind of made me change my life and decide that I wanted to do this is that I wanted to take control of my life ” Walcott said Wednesday on ABC News’ Good Morning America. “And that’s exactly what I did, by controlling the weight in my hand.”
Over the next several years, Walcott also lost 100 pounds.
She is featured in the new issue of People as one of the magazine’s “Beyond the Scale” success stories, highlighting five different wellness journeys that celebrate non-scale victories.
Walcott said her top tip for people who want to make a change, especially in the New Year, is to set one goal each day.
“Every single day I do one thing,” she said. “One thing when I wake up that gets me one step closer to my goal.”
She continued, “Whether that’s eating healthier that day because I know I won’t be training, so I focus on nutrition. Or the days that I’m training, I focus on, alright, what are fueling your body in order to attain this lift that you have to accomplish.”
Walcott said the hardest part of her health transformation was healing her unhealthy relationship with food and that her improved mental health is her biggest accomplishment — not the physical transformation.
To stay motivated during the tough days, Walcott said she would tell herself “what you put in, is what you put out.”
To fuel her body and her workouts, Walcott said she focuses on eating protein, vegetables and complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes.
“I just make better choices,” she said. “Motivated or not, I’m determined. I’m checking all the boxes.”
Walcott said she started her weightlifting journey by working out in her living room, even bench pressing her son, who now works out with her in the gym and whom she describes as her “hype man.”
She said she’s most proud of being a role model to her children and setting the example that anything you can dream, you can do.
“I think one of the biggest things too is my kids realize now that I can show them better than I can tell them that anything is possible,” she said.
“Beyond the Scale” is featured in the latest issue of People, on newsstands now.
(NEW YORK) — The Danish concept of “hygge,” or “coziness,” can help fend off the seasonal blues.
Spending time with loved ones and creating a cozy ambience with scents, lighting and sounds can improve mood and reduce stress during the wintertime.
“Hygge is a mindset — an attitude and approach to living that prioritizes togetherness, affection, slow living, gratitude and contentment,” said Natalie Dattilo, a clinical health psychologist at Harvard Medical School.
Hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”) is relevant year-round.
It can, however, be especially helpful during this time of year, when shorter daylight hours and stressful holiday events may contribute to seasonal drops in mood.
Nordic countries, like Denmark, have some of the shortest daylight hours and harshest winters but often rank highest in the annual World Happiness report.
“It would be very easy to be isolated and depressed. Hygge is a coping mechanism that helps them get through the long, dark winters,” said Jaime Kurtz, a clinical psychologist at James Madison University.
One way to practice hygge is through social connection.
“Social connectedness and gratitude are probably the most important factors that have been proven to be correlated with happiness,” said clinical psychologist Pauline Wallin.
Sharing and enjoying meals together can increase social bonding, feelings of well-being and contentment.
That doesn’t mean you have to overextend yourself socially.
“Holiday parties can seem overwhelming. It’s OK to be selective and choose the social events that will truly bring you joy,” said Howard Liu, a child and adult psychiatrist at the University of Nebraska.
But if you can’t physically be with loved ones, the right environment can evoke similar feelings.
“Eating, drinking and taking in comforting aromas can evoke memories of family and friends at various times of one’s life,” said Wallin. “Smell is strongly connected with memory and emotion. So is music.”
Good smells and music also help create a cozy ambiance, another important component of hygge. Opt for nostalgic scents when possible.
“Fill your environment with smells that you love and bring comfort. Think sugar cookies, spices, or chicken noodle soup,” said Dattilo.
Or try a sound or smell known to boost mood.
“Research has shown that the smell of lavender and vanilla is particularly relaxing to the population at large,” said Sally Augustin, a fellow at the American Psychological Association.
The right lighting in a room can also improve the ambience. People tend to perceive warmer lights as more relaxing, research shows.
“Using candles or a fireplace has advantages in that the visual of the flames themselves are naturally relaxing,” said Augustin.
If that’s not an option, swapping bright fluorescents for warm lightbulbs in lamps can work too.
For one last element of comfort, consider texture.
“Soft textures make sense because they are relaxing for us to feel,” said Augustin.
Think cozy pajamas, soft blankets, or fuzzy socks.
So as the long nights drag on and the cold creeps in, try turning to hygge, Kurtz said.
“Embrace the weather! Light a fire, put on soft clothing, make a warm beverage and snuggle a pet or a loved one,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — The new year is less than a week away and, for some, that may come as a relief.
The holiday season can be stressful for many with all the planning, traveling and shopping. If you can relate, perhaps one of your resolutions for 2023 can be resetting your mental health.
Something as simple as taking a short, uninterrupted walk may do a world of good.
ABC News’ medical contributor Dr. Darien Sutton appeared on Good Morning America Monday to share some tips and recommendations on how you can take care of your mind in the new year:
(NEW YORK) — As parents and caregivers try to cope with the spread of flu, RSV and COVID-19 in what health experts are calling a “tripledemic,” some may look online for treatment and prevention tips.
However, earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory warning people about fraudulent flu products sold online and in retail stores, saying the “unproven” products “claim to prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure the flu” – even though they have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safety and effectiveness.
On Instagram alone, the hashtags #rsv and #flu have been shared over 1.5 million times.
Some social media posts share information about symptoms of both viruses, while others contain information about home remedies, which doctors warn can be dangerous.
“What I worry about is that some parents may rely on these unproven treatments, and then this can actually lead to a delay in care when children need it,” said Dr. Alok Patel, a pediatrician at Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, California, and an ABC News medical contributor. “For example, every cold symptom is not necessarily because of a virus that’s going to treat itself on its own.”
Patel, the father of a 2-year-old daughter, continued, “Your child may actually have something such as an ear infection, or a strep throat, and if those remain untreated, they can lead to some really bad consequences.”
Adding to parents’ confusion, according to Patel, is that as doctors’ offices and hospitals remain busy during the tripledemic, social media may seem like the fastest way to seek information. In addition, the medical advice for viral illnesses may be to let them take their course, which can lead parents to try to find home remedies.
“Parents are seeing these headlines about overfull hospitals and ERs, so parents are scared,” said Patel. “I feel the same thing,” he added.
Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a pediatrician at Columbia University in New York and the mother of a 14-month-old son, said she worries about how often people may take advice from people they follow on social media who are not medical professionals.
“Sometimes we follow accounts for their lifestyle advice and for decorations, or how to dress, how to dress our kids and fun activities,” said Bracho-Sanchez. “Those accounts are not the ones that we want to go to when we’re looking for health information.”
Here are tips from Bracho-Sanchez and Patel to help parents navigate the flood of health information online around flu, RSV and more:
1. Go to trusted medical sources online.
When parents and caregivers see health tips online, Bracho-Sanchez says there are three questions they should ask themselves: Does this person have the credentials to be recommending this? Could this potentially be dangerous to my child? Should I talk to my pediatrician first before doing some of these things that are being recommended?
The top step to take though, according to Bracho-Sanchez, is to only seek medical information from certified medical providers.
“When you want health information tips on keeping your kids safe, go to the pediatricians, go to verified and credited accounts of people who are actual health care professionals that are giving you advice from a place of knowledge about some of these subjects,” she said.
Patel recommends always searching for the source of a social media video or post before taking in the information.
“Any time you see a Facebook, TikTok or Instagram post that is claiming to have a treatment for a common cold or a cure, scroll to the bottom and look to see what the source of that information is,” he said. “And go backwards and be an internet sleuth, and make sure it’s legit.”
2. Know the home remedies that are pediatrician-approved.
Overall, the best way to boost your child’s immune system is simply with good hydration, nutrition and sleep, Patel noted.
There are also things parents can do to help make sure their child is as comfortable as can be when battling a viral illness like RSV or the flu, according to both Patel and Bracho-Sanchez.
Both doctors said items like humidifiers, saline nasal sprays and nasal suctioning tools are all great to have on hand at home.
For children over the age of 1, a small dose of honey, around one teaspoon, can help ease a child’s cough, according to Patel and Bracho-Sanchez.
Hydration is also very important when kids are sick.
“When my daughter is sick, we make sure that she’s still eating and drinking consistently, even if it’s small amounts at a time,” said Patel.
3. Be wary of suggested home remedies that aren’t proven.
“Some things that I personally have seen and heard of from social media platforms are home remedies such as onion water, or making immune-boosting smoothies, or even cutting up garlic cloves and placing them on children’s feet, inside their ear or on their chest to ‘draw out toxins,'” said Patel. “There is no evidence that any of this actually works.”
Patel said he warns parents to be wary of remedies that claim to be safe because they are “all natural.”
“Some treatments that may be homeopathic or natural are not necessarily safe,” he said. “They can actually interact with certain medications or have bad consequences for some children.”
Another red flag, according to Patel, is a claim that a product or treatment can cure RSV.
“There is no actual proven RSV cure,” he said. “We just have different forms of supportive care and treatment in some particular situations. There’s nothing you can buy or make that is going to magically cure your child of RSV in one day.”
4. Remember that your child is not every child.
Both Patel and Bracho-Sanchez stressed the importance of parents knowing that what may have helped one child, may not necessarily be the most effective or safest treatment for their own child.
“Your child may have asthma or a heart condition or allergies, and what works for somebody else’s child may not be enough for your child,” said Bracho-Sanchez. “You know your child best. Trust yourself and trust your doctor.”
Patel also said it’s important for parents to seek medical attention when necessary for a child so there is not a delay in the correct treatment.
“Coughing, sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes, all those symptoms may not be from the same cause as somebody else’s child,” said Patel. “What might be RSV in one kid, could be influenza in another or COVID-19 in another or a sinus infection in another child, and treatment may differ.”
Symptoms that would call for urgent medical care include changes in their mental status like confusion or sleepiness, respiratory distress like gasping for air and difficulty breathing and signs of dehydration like not making tears when they cry or making less than one wet diaper every eight hours, according to Patel.
(NEW YORK) — Americans are taking to the roads and to the skies as they travel to see family and friends for the holidays.
While the holidays are being celebrated semi-normally for the first time in more than two years, the threat of multiple respiratory viruses lingers.
Although cases of the flu and RSV are declining in some areas, they are still higher at this point in the year than in seasons past, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, weekly COVID-19 cases have increased over the last four weeks from 307,201 to 455,466, CDC data shows.
While heading to your destination, experts recommend masking and practicing good hand hygiene to avoid getting infected — or passing infection to others — while traveling.
“The good news is that we are now all educated about how to protect ourselves against COVID and just sort of pulling out that COVID toolbox,” Dr. Sandra Nelson, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, told ABC News. “Again, we can apply the lessons that we learned on how to prevent infections for the other respiratory viruses that are circulating as well.”
Stay up to date on vaccinations and boosters
Experts said the most important thing you can do to keep yourself safe, whether traveling by car, train or plane, is to make sure you’re up to date on your vaccinations and boosters.
For COVID-19, this includes the primary vaccine series and the updated bivalent booster than specifically targets omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
However, only 14.1% of Americans aged 5 and older have received the booster despite a recent study from the CDC that shows the booster was 80% effective at preventing seniors from being hospitalized and provided benefits for adults of all ages.
For the flu, this means getting the annual flu shot. As of Dec. 11 — the latest date for which CDC data is available — only 46.7% of Americans adults say they have received the vaccine.
According to the CDC, the flu shot reduces the risk of illness by 40% to 60%. Experts say the flu vaccine this year matches well to currently circulating strains.
“It’s important for an individual to get vaccinated, especially if they have high-risk conditions, they are immunocompromised, elderly and such that they should get vaccinated,” Dr. Abinash Virk, an infectious diseases specialist at the Mayo Clinic, told ABC News. “We know those vaccinations do decrease the [risk of] severe disease. They may not completely prevent you from having something, but at least they will prevent that severity.”
Consider wearing a mask
While traveling in an airplane or on a train, public health experts recommended Americans wear masks and only remove them while eating or drinking.
“Really, the highest risk time on an airplane is in getting on and off the plane before and after the ventilation systems on the airplane are up and running,” Nelson said. “So during boarding and disembarking the airplane, that is the highest risk time.”
She continued, “But there remain risks even when the flight is, is airborne. Even with the good ventilation systems, there’s still the potential for transmission from people who are sitting near us.”
When it comes to wearing a mask, doctors suggest wearing a well-fitting high-quality mask such as a KN95 or an N95 mask over a surgical mask or a cloth mask.
Practice good hand hygiene
Making sure you wash or sanitize your hands after touching contact surfaces such as an airplane bathroom door or tray table is one of the best ways to prevent infection, the experts said.
Even though COVID-19 is not primarily spread by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces, cold, flu and other viruses can live on surfaces from several hours to several days.
“Hand hygiene has never been more important with all these viruses that are transmitted through droplets,” Dr. Justin Fiala, pulmonary and critical care specialist at Northwestern Medicine, told ABC News. “So, someone sneezes, sneezes on their hand, wipes their nose and then turns the doorknob or handle, any of those things then can allow the virus to persist.”
“Nothing wrong with being a little bit more judicious getting that Purell or whatever the hand sanitizer is at the airport, at the Amtrak station, wherever people are this holiday season,” he added.
Open windows
If traveling by car, and if the weather isn’t too cold, the doctors recommended opening the windows for ventilation.
Ventilating the car and filtering air flow can help reduce virus particles and lower the risk of spread, according to the CDC.
“If you’re in like a warmer climate, it really is all about ventilation,” Fiala said. “And so, if you can get whatever the air is cycling through relatively frequently, then that conceivably will lower your risk.”
Stay home if you feel sick
If you develop cold or flu-like symptoms and it’s possible to delay or cancel travel plans, the experts recommended doing just that.
“This just comes down to if you’re feeling lousy enough where you’re wondering what to do, whether to go or not to a family gathering, usually I tell patients that is a good litmus test to say, ‘Oh, you know, what? You’re probably feeling bad enough, where this is not a good idea,'” Fiala said.
Additionally, people should also reconsider venturing out when sick if they’ll be visiting someone who is at high risk for severe illness such as those who are elderly or have weakened immune systems.
If you can’t get out of your travel plans, the experts suggest following the earlier recommended steps.
“If you have to travel, then I would definitely recommend that you wear a mask so that others don’t get infected, and in and preferably in an N-95 mask but if you have an additional risk of severe disease, then you really have to be a little bit more critical of that decision,” Virk said.
(NEW YORK) — Life expectancy in the United States has fallen to the lowest levels seen in 26 years, new federal data shows.
Two new reports, published early Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, found the death rate increased 5.3%, from 835.4 per 100,000 people to 879.7 per 100,000 in 2021.
This means that life expectancy decreased in 2021 for the second year in a row to 76.4 years, down from 77 years in 2020, and is the lowest figure recorded since 1996.
While the drop of 0.6 years is not insignificant, it’s smaller than the drop of 1.8 years that occurred between 2019 and 2020.
The authors of the report said the drop was primarily due to COVID-19 and drug overdose deaths.
Men and women had roughly the same decrease in life expectancy, according to the data, with men seeing declines of 0.7 years from 74.2 years in 2020 to 73.5 in 2021. Meanwhile, women saw a decrease of 0.6 years of 79.9 years in 2020 to 79.3 in 2021.
Among racial and ethnic groups, death rates increased for nearly every group. Decreases were only seen for Hispanic and Black men, with nonsignificantly different rates for Asian men and women.
When it came to the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S., they were largely unchanged from 2020 to 2021. Heart disease continued to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. followed by cancer and COVID-19, respectively, according to the data.
The only change was chronic liver disease and cirrhosis becoming the ninth leading cause of death, while influenza and pneumonia fell off the top 10 list.
For eight of the top 10 causes, the death rate increased, but the biggest jump was seen for COVID-19.
In 2020, the rate was 85 deaths per 100,000 Americans with the rate increasing to 104.1 per 100,000 in 2021, the data showed.
The report pointed to COVID-19 as one of the main reasons for the drop in life expectancy. There were approximately 460,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 during 2021, according to an April 2022 CDC report.
Drug overdoses were the other reason for the drop in life expectancy, according to the report out Thursday.
In 2021, there were 106,699 overdose deaths for a rate of 32.4 per 100,000 people, up from 91,799 deaths or 28.3 overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2020.
The authors noted that drug overdose deaths currently account for more than one-third of all accidental deaths in the U.S.
From 2020 to 2021, the rate for men increased 14%, from 39.5 deaths per 100,000 to 45.1, and for women, the rate increased 15% from 17.1 to per 100,000 to 19.6.
The largest percentage increase was seen in Americans aged 65 and older, with a 28% jump from 2020 to 2021.
Many of those drug fatalities were due to opioids, particularly synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, the data showed, with a 22% increase from 2020 to 2021.
(NEW YORK) — Break out the gloves and hats: bitter cold is moving in, bringing what could be the coldest Christmas in decades for parts of the U.S.
On Friday morning, the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will drop to minus 7 degrees in Dallas and 1 degree in Houston. Up north, the wind chill will plunge to a brutal minus 39 degrees in Minneapolis and minus 37 degrees in Chicago.
On Christmas Eve, the wind chill is forecast to reach minus 10 degrees in New York, minus 1 degree in Nashville and 4 degrees in Atlanta.
Here is your cheat sheet for how to brave the frigid weather:
How to stay safe outside
Those with prolonged exposure or those not dressed appropriately for the weather are in danger of frostbite and hypothermia, National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Engle told ABC News.
Frostbite results in the loss of feeling and color in affected areas — usually the nose, ears, cheeks, fingers, toes or chin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Frostbite could potentially cause permanent damage and, in severe cases, can lead to amputation, the CDC said.
Someone suffering from frostbite can be unaware of it because tissues that become frozen are numb, the CDC said. These are all signs of frostbite: numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, or skin that feels unusually firm or waxy.
“Don’t rub your hands — if you have frost-nip or frostbite, rubbing actually causes tissue damage,” Dr. Randall Wexler, professor of family medicine at Ohio State University, told ABC News.
If you think you are developing frostbite, “keep the area covered if you can … because if you have frostbite on your hand and you pull off your glove, you may cause tissue damage,” Wexler said.
He added, “That’s also when you want to start trying to raise your core body temperature — get rid of wet clothes, put on clothes that are warm and dry.”
There’s also hypothermia — or abnormally low body temperature — which can impact the brain, “making the victim unable to think clearly or move well,” the CDC said. “This makes hypothermia especially dangerous because a person may not know that it’s happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Warning signs for adults are shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness. Warning signs for infants are bright red or cold skin and very low energy, the CDC said.
Engle recommends to “dress in three or more layers. One big thick winter coat tends not to do the trick. You have to have a thick sweater underneath and then a lighter jacket on top of that and then your winter coat.”
“People really should keep their heads covered because that’s where majority of heat gets lost,” Engle added.
Wexler said moving can generate heat. But try to avoid sweating.
“If you are overheated and start to sweat, that lowers your body temperature and makes you more susceptible to cold injury,” he said. “You want to be able to adjust your layers, zip and unzip.”
Wexler also recommended staying hydrated because “dehydration can help promote cold injury.”
The young and elderly should be especially careful in the cold.
“Their ability to maintain core body temperature is harder than mid-age and younger adults,” he said. “Kids, especially babies, lose a disproportionate amount of heat from their head — that’s why you want to have a hat on their head when you’re out there. Older people are more at risk simply because it is more difficult to regulate our core body temperature as we get older.”
It’s also more difficult to maintain your core temperature if you are diabetic or taking decongestant antihistamines or certain blood pressure medications, Wexler said.
How to keep your car safe
When the temperature dips, getting behind the wheel can prove to be a challenge. Problems include dead car batteries, iced-over windshields, broken car locks and driving with no traction.
Audra Fordin, founder of Woman Auto Know and the owner of Great Bear Auto Repair in Queens, New York, provided these tips:
1. Before you hit the road, check under the hood.
“If it’s really cold outside, you want to make sure that your battery is going to be good in the freezing cold weather,” Fordin said. “If you see any snow or blue stuff that’s growing off your battery, that’s an indication you want to go to the shop to have your battery checked.”
2. Iced out windshields? Turn to your wallet for help.
“If you get to your car and can’t see, pull out a credit card, and you can just wipe that frost away,” Fordin said.
3. Fighting a stubborn car lock? Get sanitizing.
“If your lock is frozen, put the sanitizer on the key, and then put the key into the lock,” Fordin said.
4. If your car can’t gain traction, let your floor mat give an assist.
“Grab your floor mat, you’re going to put it underneath the wheel,” Fordin said. “That will give you enough traction to pull your car out and hit the road.”
(NEW YORK) — Over the past few weeks, reports have emerged of sporadic shortages of over-the-counter children’s medications including Children’s Tylenol, Motrin and ibuprofen in some locations.
It comes amid a respiratory virus season that started earlier than usual with the highest number of flu and RSV cases seen in years.
Experts said that due to an earlier and unprecedented demand of certain medications, some stores may have little to no supply of these products.
However, manufacturers told ABC News they are working to produce the drugs and get them on shelves as quickly as possible.
Here’s what we know about the drug shortage and what you can do if you come across empty shelves:
What’s the situation?
An early start to the respiratory illness season has led to a rush in Americans buying over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers, with sales up 65% this November compared to last year, Consumer Healthcare Products Association spokesperson Anita Brikman told ABC News.
“Every year, we have a flu season that hits in the fall,” Dr. Stephen Schondelmeyer, professor of pharmaceutical care and health systems at the University of Minnesota, told ABC News. “This year, though, the flu season — depending on which part of the country you’re in — hit four to eight weeks early and not only did it start early, but the flu season had several different respiratory illnesses that a person could have caught all at the same time.”
“So, they may have gotten the flu, they may have gotten respiratory syncytial virus, which is RSV. COVID is still out there and there are a couple of flu-like conditions that people could get,” Schondelmeyer continued. “So, we kind of had this perfect storm of respiratory conditions hitting earlier than typically would have occurred.”
Flu has been a particular challenge this year with the U.S. seeing the highest number of cases at this point in the season at least 10 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more, children aged 4 and younger have the second-highest weekly hospitalization rate after those aged 65 and older.
Additionally, although cases of RSV are currently trending downward, they hit a two-year-high in early November, according to data from the CDC.
Meanwhile, weekly COVID-19 cases have also increased over the last four weeks from 307,201 to 455,466, and children aged 4 and younger have the highest case rate among all children under age 18, according to the CDC.
A combination of these illnesses has led to some places reporting supply shortages across the U.S., although these vary by state and even by city.
Experts said because supply is refreshed at stores at different times, customers may see stocked shelves at various times of day depending on the store.
Purchases some children medications being limited
While there are supply issues due to the unprecedented demand, manufacturers and pharmacies said there is no national shortage of pediatric cold and flu medications in the U.S.
National chains — including CVS and Walgreens — have each said they will be limiting purchases of ibuprofen and acetaminophen due to high demand.
At CVS, purchases will be limited to two per customer and online at Walgreens, purchases will be limited to six per customer, although there will be no limit in store, the chains told ABC News.
Schondelmeyer said, currently, there’s not a production issue at factories or a lack of ingredients to make the mediations, but rather because the respiratory season started so earlier, stores and manufacturers haven’t had a chance to catch up.
“It’s sort of like if you’re running a race, but you find out that everybody else started an hour before you did,” he said. “So that’s what happened here. We’re still running the race, but the flu season started before the medicines did.”
Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, agrees and speculates companies typically make products based on last year’s sales with some room for an increase over the previous year.
“Clearly, nobody was ready for a huge spike in need for these medications,” Fox, who studies drug shortages, told ABC News. “We know manufacturers are ramping up supply, but these are low-cost meds. There isn’t a stockpile or extra manufactured to be ready ‘just in case.'”
Rite Aid told ABC News it is experiencing high demand but will not be implementing purchase limits at this time.
What you can do
Brikman told ABC News that Americans should try to avoid stockpiling, which only worsens the problem and can lead to less access and price gouging for other families.
Therefore, parents should buy only what they need, especially because the supply is expected to match demand in a few weeks.
“We’ve been in touch with all the three major manufacturers of these products — they’ve confirmed they’re running their factories, their manufacturing facilities 24/7 and trying to just meet the demand,” Brikman said. “But we also understand that there have been intermittent out of stocks. Given this demand, we understand why retailers may have put some of these limits in place to try and prevent stocking up, which could mean another family can’t find the medicine as easily.”
If someone wants to buy these children’s medications, Brikman continued, “So we’re trying to get out the message, please, when you find this, purchase what you need for your family, but avoid the temptation to stock up because that may affect the next person who walks in the store.
She added it is the hope in the next few weeks that the supply will meet the demand and pharmacies will reach their normal availability of medications.
Schondelmeyer also warned that even if parents cannot find children’s medication, they should not give them adult medication because medicine for children is dosed based on weight and age. Giving them adult doses can have serious consequences.
“Parents should be cautious and don’t give your child a full adult dose because that could be harmful to them,” he said. “Do not use aspirin. If you find that the shelves are empty at the pharmacy, ask your pharmacist what alternatives are there or consider looking at other pharmacies as well, and the pharmacist can advise you on what the appropriate dose is for a child.”
He also said parents don’t need to give their kids fever-reducing medication unless the fever is persistent. If the medication is needed, Schondelmeyer suggests parents not just stick to brand names but also look for generic options.
“There are generic versions of these medicines that are the same medicine, that are just as safe, that work just as well,” he said. “And so, don’t hesitate to ask your pharmacist, ‘Is there a generic available?'”
Experts also say a compounded version of these drugs may be an option for some people who can’t go without them. Some pharmacies, called compounding pharmacies, can take one version of a drug, like a powder, and mix it into another version, such as a liquid medication. But any compounded drug needs a prescription because it is not FDA-approved.
“It’s not common to see [ibuprofen or acetaminophen] compounded. But it’s not very difficult to do,” Gus Bassani, chief scientific officer at the Professional Compounding Centers of America told ABC News.
ABC News’ Eric Strauss, Sasha Pezenik, Youri Benadjaoud and Nicole Westman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the country faces a rise in COVID, flu and RSV, there is a testing kit that the FDA authorized in May that is one swab for all three viruses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 15 million reported flu-like illnesses, 150,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths from flu this season. Since last week, there’s been a 15% increase in total illnesses and the number of people in the hospital. Though there’s increased spread of COVID-19 concentrated in the Northeast and California, national numbers are relatively stable.
GMA medical contributor Dr. Darien Sutton joined Good Morning America to break down the tool to battle against this season’s “tripledemic.”
“The FDA is trying to improve access to PCR testing … so they’ve authorized a three-in-one test that tests for COVID, RSV and the flu with one swab,” Sutton said.
How the test works
“With the spike in RSV cases over the last year, the continued presence of COVID-19, and the ever-present threat of flu, testing for all three viruses at once enables individuals and physicians to quickly identify the illness and determine the appropriate treatment,” Dr. Brian Caveney, chief medical officer and president of Labcorp Diagnostics wrote in a press release in part of a statement.
Labcorp’s combined home collection kit, called The Pixel, is for COVID, flu and RSV only. The FDA authorized the emergency use of the kits “for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and/or influenza B, and RSV, not for any other viruses or pathogens,” according to a Labcorp press release.
Unfortunately, results don’t come in 15 minutes like a rapid antigen test, but the results are processed in a lab, using the amplification process of PCR, so the results may be more accurate. Potential test-takers go to a website and fill out a questionnaire. If they meet the criteria, they are sent the kit via overnight service. The user then swabs their nose to collect a sample and sends the kit back to Labcorp for testing. Results take one to two days after the samples have arrived back at the lab, so it takes about three to five days at the earliest to receive final results.
The kit is available for use by individuals age 2 and older, without the need for a prescription, according to the press release. The test also has no out-of-pocket cost for those with insurance and who meet the criteria in the questionnaire.
For those who are uninsured, it runs $169.
Similar tests are available from urgent care and other health care providers and you can get your results quicker. Quick results may be more useful because if you are positive for COVID-19 or the flu, treatments like Paxlovid or Tamiflu have to be taken within a few days after symptoms appear.
Should you take this test before holiday gatherings?
The Pixel three-in-one test is not for anyone looking to get rapid test results or people who may be at high risk for the three viruses and who are already experiencing flu-like symptoms.
“If you’re high risk, then you might be a candidate for interventions, for example, like Paxlovid,” Sutton said. “If you’re lower risk and you have mild to no symptoms, then I think that this is an option to take but again, if you’re going to go to an event or holiday party, my recommendation is use those rapid tests as close as possible to that event to increase the level of accuracy and if you want to add an extra layer of protection a couple of days before, you can get the PCR tests.”
Experts also say testing should not replace but can supplement other precautionary measures.
“Knowing your results early are really important depending on your risks, and if you’re lower risk and you have symptoms, wearing a mask [can help] to prevent transmission, regardless of your test results,” Sutton added.
Treatment has the best outcomes with early identification. A new study found that Paxlovid lowered the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by 44% in a highly vaccinated group of U.S. adults over the age of 50. Best results are determined if started within the first three to five days after symptom onset.
(NEW YORK) — China is reporting its first deaths linked to COVID-19 in weeks as cases surge amid the country lifting many of its so-called “zero COVID” policies.
The deaths, which were reported on Monday by the National Health Commission and occurred in Beijing, are the first recorded since Dec. 4.
No information was available about the deaths including the names, ages, sex and vaccination status of the patients.
For most of the pandemic, China has implemented strict measures, including widespread lockdowns and mass testing in an attempt to prevent outbreaks.
But over the past few months, there have been large outcries and growing public resentment over the disruption to daily life, leading Beijing to ease some restrictions such as people being allowed to isolate at home and schools without known infections being able to resume classes.
However, a public health expert told ABC News a combination of under-vaccination and large swaths of unprotected vulnerable populations will lead to more deaths.
“What will happen with the new policy right now is most of the population in China will be infected by COVID,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist and chief strategy officer at the University of Washington Population Health Initiative. “In one way or another, they’ll be infected.”
According to the NHC, China has only recorded 5,237 COVID-19 deaths — much lower than the tolls reported by other Western countries — since the pandemic began, but experts agree this is likely an undercount. According to data from Johns Hopkins, China has had over 16,000 deaths since the pandemic started.
Mokdad said health officials only include those who died directly from COVID-19 in the official death count. Those with underlying medical conditions that were exacerbated by the virus or who incidentally tested positive for COVID are excluded.
However, he expects the number of deaths will rise over the next several weeks and months.
One mathematical model from the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation suggests there could be almost 323,000 total COVID-19 deaths in China by April 1 as a result of the shift in policy.
One reason deaths could rise is because of the lack of an effective vaccine.
In China, the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine has been administered since June 2021 when it received emergency use authorization. According to the World Health Organization, 87% of the population has been vaccinated, but the government says more than 90% are vaccinated according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper.
According to the WHO, the Sinovac vaccine is 100% effective against severe COVID-19. However, a Yale study found the two-dose regimen produced no neutralizing antibodies against the omicron variant.
Booster rates are also lagging with just 69.7% of those aged 60 and older as of Dec. 15 and 40% of those aged 80 and older are boosted as of early November, according to China Daily.
“Whatever China does, the simple fact they have a very susceptible population, a vaccine that’s not as effective against omicron, waning immunity and many of the elderly population not vaccinated, there will be lots of hospitalization and more deaths,” Mokdad said.
Another reason deaths could rise is because of under-vaccination and lack of exposure to the virus, due to lockdowns under the zero COVID policy, many people don’t have natural or vaccine-derived antibodies.
“They know nothing about COVID like you and I have been vaccinated or have gotten COVID-19 or both,” he said. “So, we’re not naive to cope with it and our body will remember it and then will mount a defense.”
He continued, “Many Chinese don’t have that luxury. And we are most concerned about the elderly, simply because they’re not vaccinated and the zero COVID policy protected them from infections in the past.”
