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Adults hospitalized for COVID-19 were at lower risk of needing medical care for migraine, epilepsy, neuropathy, movement disorders, stroke, and dementia in the next year than matched patients with influenza, researchers from Yale University and the University of Michigan report in Neurology. They point out, however, that their study did not assess the effects of long COVID. (Van Beusekom, 3/22)

Earlier this week in JAMA, researchers published data on the risk of stroke among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older in the immediate weeks following a bivalent (two-strain) COVID-19 vaccine dose, finding no significantly elevated risk during the first 6 weeks following injection. (Soucheray, 3/22)

A large study yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases shows that, if prescribed within 5 days of confirmed infection, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is more effective in protecting against all-cause mortality and severe COVID-19 in adults than is molnupiravir, another antiviral drug. The study was conducted in Hong Kong in 2022. (Soucheray, 3/22)

Rat droppings from New York City. Poop from dog parks in Wisconsin. Human waste from a Missouri hospital. These are some of the materials that are readying us for the next chapter of the coronavirus saga. More than four years into the pandemic, the virus has loosened its hold on most people’s bodies and minds. But a new variant better able to dodge our immune defenses may yet appear, derailing a hard-won return to normalcy. Scientists around the country are watching for the first signs. (Mandavilli, 3/22)

A large nationwide study in Sweden found that low exposure to antibiotics in newborns treated in neonatal units over a 9-year period was not associated with an increased risk of early-onset sepsis (EOS), researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open. But the study also found that the number of newborns who are treated with antibiotics is higher than it should be, given the low prevalence of EOS and low mortality associated with the condition, a finding the study authors say indicates that efforts to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in newborns are needed. (Dall, 3/22)

Pregnancy is a known stressor on the body. But a new study published on Friday in Cell Metabolism found that while pregnancy accelerates the body’s biological clock, much of that effect is reversed after delivery, especially in people who breastfeed. (Merelli, 3/22)

A huge happiness gap is opening between American adults and teens. Depression has hit teens much harder than adults in the smartphone era, according to National Survey on Drug Use and Health data. (Bressner, 3/22)

Most people, study after study shows, don’t take the medicines prescribed for them. It doesn’t matter what they are — statins, high blood pressure drugs, drugs to lower blood sugar, asthma drugs. Either patients never start taking them, or they stop. ... But that resistance may be overcome by the blockbuster obesity drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, which have astounded the world with the way they help people lose weight and keep it off. (Kolata, 3/24)

Champions of organic farming have long portrayed it as friendlier to humans and the earth. But a new study in a California county found a surprising effect as their acreage grew: Nearby conventional farms applied more pesticides, likely to stay on top of an increased insect threat to their crops, the researchers said.Ashley Larsen, lead author of the study in this week’s journal Science, said understanding what’s happening could be important to keeping organic and conventional farmers from hurting each other’s operations. (Walling, 3/22)

Almost half of the tap water in the United States is contaminated with chemicals known as “forever chemicals,” according to a study from the US Geological Survey. (Christensen, 3/22)