Nearly half of Americans lied about following COVID-19 measures
| Headlines for a healthier you | | | Anisa Arsenault, Associate Editorial Director | | | | Nearly Half of Americans Lied About Following COVID-19 Measures |  | Time to fess up: Have you ever downplayed a recent COVID exposure or ditched a mask when it was still required? About half of us have, a new survey published in JAMA reports. And it's had an unquantifiable impact on the pandemic.
"This disease was difficult to stop even in the most controlled conditions, and failing to follow public health guidance made it that much tougher," Brian Labus, MPH, PhD, an infectious disease expert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said. "While not everyone infected someone else because they didn't follow public health guidance, many of them did. As a result, people ultimately got sick and died." | | Know More | | What did we fib about? Mostly, respondents exaggerated the number of COVID precautions they took ahead of seeing someone in person. Breaking quarantine rules was also common. Why did we do it? To feel normal. | | Feel Better | | These results don't bode well for future pandemics. If people haven't kept up the vigilance, it's unlikely they'll do any better next time. But experts think if we hear a little less from public health experts and a little more from trusted community groups or figures, we have a better shot at being receptive to health messaging and responding appropriately. | | |  | What Else Should You Know | | | Who the New Alzheimer's Drugs Leave Behind | | While there's still uncertainty about how well they'll work, the fact that new, innovative Alzheimer's treatments are in development is good news. The bad news? They probably won't be distributed equitably. Both Aduhelm (FDA approved) and lecanemab (in clinical trials) target amyloid plaques in the brain, which are thought to be associated with cognitive decline. But non-White pateints are slighly less likely to display amyloid plaques on brain scans, likely barring them from this kind of treatment. | | | | | | Can Blood Tests Really Detect Cancer Early? | | What if a blood test could detect the earliest traces of cancer in your body before you have any signs or symptoms? Tests that make these claims exist: multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests. But they're expensive and not authorized by the FDA. Soon, the National Cancer Institute will give these blood tests a thorough evaluation in a four-year clinical trial, paving the way to wider accessibility if proven effective. | | | | |  | In Other News | | - Could QR Codes Replace Nutrition Labels? Gizmodo
- Blue-Green Algae Could Help Treat Cancer And Alzheimer's Disease. Discover
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