Stay Well

April 23, 2025

CDC Weighing End to Universal COVID Vaccine Recommendations

A majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work group on COVID-19 vaccines now supports ending the agency's pandemic-era recommendation for virtually all Americans to get vaccinated against the virus each year, officials said. Instead of the agency's longstanding "universal" recommendation, most of the CDC's advisers and health officials favor shifting to guidance based on people's individual risk of more severe disease. 

While a final decision has not yet been made, this could mean that only adults ages 65 years and older would still be recommended to get at least two doses every year, under a policy option laid out to the agency's advisers, as well as people who have an underlying health condition putting them at higher risk. CBS News Read more

Trump Turns a COVID Information Website Into a Promotion Page for the Lab Leak Theory

A federal website that used to feature information on vaccines, testing and treatment for COVID-19 has been transformed into a page supporting the theory that the pandemic originated with a lab leak. The covid.gov website shows a photo of President Donald Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading. It mentions that Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus first began spreading, is home to a research lab with a history of conducting virus research with “inadequate biosafety levels.”

The web page also accuses Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of pushing a “preferred narrative” that COVID-19 originated in nature. The origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A U.S. intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there is insufficient evidence to prove either theory. U.S News & World Report Read more

WHO Member Countries Agree on a Draft 'Pandemic Treaty' to Try to Avoid COVID-19 Mistakes

Five years after COVID-19 triggered national lockdowns, economic uncertainty and killed millions, the World Health Organization’s member countries agreed on a draft “pandemic treaty” that sets guidelines for how the international community might confront the next global health crisis. After the world’s largely disastrous response to the coronavirus, countries tasked the WHO with overseeing a pandemic treaty in 2021. Negotiations concluded last week on an agreement expected to be adopted next month at the U.N. health agency's annual meeting in Geneva.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus heralded it as a historic moment, saying countries have proven that “in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground and a shared response.” U.S News & World Report Read more



California Lawmakers Reintroduce Housing for All Act to Tackle Homelessness, Affordable Housing

California lawmakers Monday announced the reintroduction of the Housing for All Act to address homelessness and the affordable housing crises in the state and across the nation. The legislation, backed by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, and Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), would invest in proven housing strategies and provide historic federal funding to prevent homelessness, officials said. Times of San Diego Read more

What Happens After a Homeless Person is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much

Wickey Two Hands sat at the defense table on a recent Thursday morning, holding in his lap the red baseball cap he’d doffed out of respect for the judge. The 77-year-old homeless man was supposed to be the first person tried in court under an ordinance Fresno passed last year making it a crime to camp in all public places. Over the past six months, he’d spent hours in a courtroom, arriving early for each hearing. He’d packed up and moved his campsite multiple times, trying to find out-of-the-way spots where he could avoid getting arrested again. 

But instead of sending Two Hands’ case before a jury, the judge — on the day trial was supposed to begin — dismissed all charges. The reason? The city waited too long to prosecute. Two Hands’ case shines a spotlight on a contradiction seen around the state in recent months.

California cities are passing ordinances left and right that allow police to arrest or cite unhoused people for camping on their streets and sidewalks, or in their parks. But when it comes to prosecuting, trying or sentencing people for violating these ordinances, some cities haven’t been able to follow through. In many cases, prosecutors aren’t filing charges. If people are charged, their cases often are dismissed quickly. Two Hands’ case was a rarity for how close it came to trial. But in the end, it too was thrown out. CalMatters Read more

California’s Frustration with Homelessness is Boiling Over, Poll Finds

California voters have grown so frustrated with the blue state’s failure to reduce homelessness that well over a third of the electorate now supports local laws that allow police to arrest people camping outside if they refuse shelter. About 37 percent of voters support arresting homeless people if they refuse to accept shelter, according to a poll from POLITICO and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center that surveyed registered voters as well as political and policy professionals for the first time about the contentious approach to the homelessness crisis. Another 24 percent of voters surveyed “somewhat” agree with that approach, and 38 percent oppose the idea. Politico Read more



Believers Say Microdosing Psychedelics Helps Them. Scientists Are Trying to Measure the Claims

Microdosing is gaining popularity with a new breed of health seekers. These self-experimenters take a very small amount of psilocybin mushrooms or LSD to try to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. Some claim the practice gives them access to joy, creativity, and connection they can’t get otherwise. This isn’t a full-blown acid trip — or even close. If you see visions, it’s not a microdose. People who microdose don’t do it every day. Instead, they take tiny doses intermittently, on a schedule or when they feel it could be beneficial. One small study suggests any psychological benefits come from users' expectations — the placebo effect. But the science is still new and research is ongoing. U.S. News & World Report Read more

Taking a Mental Health Leave From Work Is an Option Most People Don't Know About

Despite a fear of repercussions, more adults are recognizing that stepping back from work to deal with emotional burdens or psychological conditions that get in the way of their lives is a necessary choice, one that a growing number of employers recognize. ComPsych Corp., a provider of employee mental health programs and absence management services, encourages its business clients to make the well-being of workers a priority before individuals get to a breaking point while also having processes in place for those who require leaves of absence. U.S. News & World Report Read more

This Therapist Helped Clients Feel Better. It Was A.I.

The quest to create an A.I. therapist has not been without setbacks or, as researchers at Dartmouth thoughtfully describe them, “dramatic failures.” Their first chatbot therapist wallowed in despair and expressed its own suicidal thoughts. A second model seemed to amplify all the worst tropes of psychotherapy, invariably blaming the user’s problems on her parents.

Finally, the researchers came up with Therabot, an A.I. chatbot they believe could help address an intractable problem: There are too many people who need therapy for anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, and not nearly enough providers. Chatting with Therabot, the team’s A.I. therapist, for eight weeks meaningfully reduced psychological symptoms among users with depression, anxiety or an eating disorder. NY Times Read more



SF Drug Overdose Death Average is Up for Fourth Straight Month

Accidental drug overdose deaths in San Francisco rose for the fourth straight month after showing a promising decline last year, according to preliminary figures released by the Office of the Medical Examiner. Sixty-five people fatally overdosed in March, bringing the monthly average to 64 over the past three months — up from 59 in February, 50 in January, 43 in December, and 39 in November. That makes the most recent data roughly on par with the state of overdose deaths of about a year ago, before the decline that officials at the time deemed “remarkable” and “hopeful.” SF Chronicle Read more

Patients Cut Off from Cheaper Obesity Drugs as the FDA Halts Sales of Copycats

Hundreds of thousands of Americans stand to soon lose their access to cheaper weight-loss drugs, with a federal crackdown on copycat versions threatening to disrupt treatment and raise costs. The Food and Drug Administration has ordered producers and sellers of the less expensive products to wind down operations in the coming weeks now that it has declared there are no longer shortages of the blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Zepbound. NY Times Read more

In-Hospital Addiction Consultations Put Opioid Users on Path to Recovery

People hospitalized for opioid use can better fight their addiction if their path to recovery begins in the hospital, a new study says. Opioid users who receive addiction consultation services during their hospital stay are significantly more likely to start taking addiction meds and enter a treatment program, researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A program to provide addiction consultation “addresses a major challenge across hospitals,” senior researcher Itai Danovitch, chair of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said in a news release. “Even though effective medications exist for opioid use disorders, only a small percentage of hospitalized patients begin treatment during their stay or connect with services after discharge,” he said. U.S. News & World Report Read more



Yes, Wearing Socks to Bed May Help You Sleep Better

TikTok is abuzz with a sleepmaxxing hack: Sleeping with your socks on. Socks can keep toes toasty and create a sense of comfort and coziness — and though it may seem counterintuitive, wearing socks also could help lower core body temperature, promoting sleep, experts said. While there is a lack of high-quality studies on how wearing socks could help lower core body temperature, there is a well-accepted theoretical explanation. Washington Post Read more