Health Highlights: Aug. 16, 2021

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Here are some of HealthDay’s top stories for Monday, Aug. 16:

COVID booster shots could come for many Americans this fall. With the Delta variant raging and 100 million vaccine doses stockpiled, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said health care workers, nursing home residents and other older Americans might begin to get booster shots by this fall. Read more

U.S. gets largest increase in food stamp program in history. Over 42 million Americans benefit from the food stamps program, and the Biden Administration announced that, beginning in October, average monthly benefits will rise from $121 to $157 per person, a 27% increase. Read more

More ‘green time,’ less screen time for kids’ mental health. A new international study finds that children who spend too much time playing video games or watching TV have worse mental health as teens compared to those who get outside and are active. Read more

Smoke from wildfires could be raising COVID risks. Data culled from three Western U.S. states ravaged by wildfires finds that COVID-19 cases and deaths increase with the amount of smoke pollution. Read more

COVID-19 vaccines offer good protection for people with HIV. A small, new study should give reassurance to people living with HIV: Researchers found no differences in COVID-fighting antibody levels among vaccinated people whether or not they were HIV-positive. Read more

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