Science stories you've missed

All of us are more challenged to understand one another in a masked world, but the hearing have a clear advantage. Have you ever thought about how difficult it is for our deaf citizens to communicate in this climate? Of course, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association unequivocally advocates for mask-wearing. In a statement issued today, they simply want to stress the need for heightened awareness and tactful, sensitive changes in our communication methods with the deaf: “When messages aren’t received correctly, this can result not only in frustration, but also put people at risk for serious harm--especially in medical or emergency situations, ” said Dr. A. Lynn Williams, 2021 ASHA President. The association has advocated for the wearing of clear masks in order to aid in communication with deaf persons, successfully petitioning the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include this in their June 2020 guidance. Tips for communicating with deaf individuals while we...

The World Health Organization put out a statement Jan. 25 detailing recommendations for first and second dosage protocol of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. They state that at this time, the benefits of taking what is the mRNA-1273 vaccine outweigh the risks. They further write: - The (Moderna) mRNA-1273 vaccine against COVID-19 developed by Moderna (Moderna COVID-19 vaccine) has been shown to have an efficacy of 94.1% based on a median follow-up of two months. - High efficacy was maintained across all age groups (above 18 years), and was not affected by sex or ethnicity. Addionally, with much talk about switching vaccine brands mid-stream, WHO states that this is not recommended. Yet, if this occurs accidentally, one should not re-take a second vaccine dose, i.e. don't start with Moderna, switch to Pfizer, then take an additional "second" dosage. WHO further write that efficacy after just the first dose of the Moderna vaccine is 91.9%, starting 14 days after the first dos...