ArcaMax

For folks who believe vaccines work, here's a shot in the arm:

Three recent studies looked at the effectiveness of specific vaccines, two estimating the difference in outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

According to STAT:

-- An early estimate of the effectiveness of this year's COVID-19 shot showed its effectiveness in preventing hospitalization for the illness was about 45% in healthy older adults and 40% in those who were immunocompromised.

-- This season's influenza vaccines offered additional protection at all age levels in one of the worst flu seasons in years. All age groups were less likely to need outpatient medical care or hospitalization if they were vaccinated.

-- A study looking at the impact of the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine showed that in the period from 2008 to 2022, the incidence of cervical precancers declined 79%, and the rate of higher-grade precancers declined 80% in women aged 20 to 24, the age group most likely to be vaccinated.

Body of Knowledge

Your ears and nose become bigger with age, but it's not due to growth. They are being pulled by gravity, causing them to stretch roughly one-tenth of an inch every 10 years.

Counts

44: Percentage of U.S. adults who expressed interest in medical aid in dying should they become terminally ill, according to JAMA Network Open

Stories for the Waiting Room

Researchers are testing a new, noninvasive wearable device that monitors skin health by measuring the changing flux of gases, such as water vapor, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide, emitted by skin.

These emissions are associated with what's happening beneath the skin, such as the presence of infections and the state of wound healing. The latter can be particularly important in patients with diabetes, who often have sensory issues that complicate wound healing.

"What you see in diabetes is that even after the wound looks like it's healed, there's still a persistent impairment of that barrier," said Matthew Flavin, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Doc Talk

Fasciculation: A muscle twitch

Phobia of the Week

Belonephobia: Fear of pins and needles

Never Say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for smoked bologna is 15.75 pounds in eight minutes, held by Joey Chestnut. A real achievement, even if the meat isn't.

Best Medicine

A psychiatrist has a group meeting with three of his most challenging patients.

He asks the first patient: "What's three times four?"

"1,484."

Disappointed, the psychiatrist asks the second patient the same thing: "Three times four?"

"Wednesday."

He turns to patient No. 3: "Three times four?"

The third patient answers: "12."

The psychiatrist is pleasantly surprised. "How did you get to that answer?" he asks.

"Easy: I divided 1,484 by Wednesday."

Observation

"You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in." -- Dr. Seuss

Medical History

This week in 1924, the first U.S. portable electrical stethoscope was demonstrated in Chicago to amplify the sounds of the human body. It was designed by the Western Electric Co. with Bell System engineers and physiologist Dr. Horatio B. Williams.

Med School

True or false: Veins look blue because the unoxygenated blood in them is blue.

Answer: False. Red portions of the visible light spectrum easily penetrate skin and become absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood. Blue light scatters when it hits skin and gets reflected back to your eye, causing veins to appear blue.

Last Words

"And now, a final word from our sponsor ..." -- American writer and TV announcer Charles Gussman (1913-2000). Gussman was a prolific, successful writer of steamy romances and soap operas. He wrote the pilot episode of still-running "Days of Our Lives," which first aired in 1965.

Gussman told his family he wanted his last words to be memorable. As his death approached, his daughter reminded him of his wish. Gussman removed his oxygen mask and uttered ...

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To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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