Sara Miller, Staff Writer at Live Science, and Claire Maldarelli, assistant editor at Popular Science, discuss a new study that suggests that men might not be exaggerating symptoms of the flu after all...they might actually suffer more than women!
Miller and Maldarelli weigh-in on the findings, which seem to come down to estrogen. Women, because they have more of the hormone, seem to have stronger immune defenses to respiratory illness.
Both writers also talk the discrepancies in the findings. Social constructs and regular doctor visits could proect against getting sick were not taken into account in the study.
President Biden's self-imposed deadline of making booster vaccines available for all Americans is today, but with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only approving the boosters for senior citizens, it doesn't look like he can make that deadline. The nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci defended both positions, saying that the deadline was more of a placeholder and that he also stands by the FDA's decision.
Dr. Jen Caudle, family physician and associate professor at Rowan University, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more on the booster shot and Pfizer's vaccine for young kids.
26 states have now fully vaccinated more than half of their population with Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts fully vaccinating at least two-thirds of their residents. These three states are among the ones with the lowest new Covid-19 cases per capita, but in states with low vaccination rates, hospitals are filling up again.
Dr. Rob Davidson, ER doctor and executive director of Committee to Protect Health Care, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more.
