The Illinois Department of Public Health says “daily deaths reported on weekends and at the beginning of the week may be low” and “those deaths will be captured in subsequent days.” Local doctors are weighing in after President Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic is over. They agree we’re past the emergency phase, but they have a warning about this fall and winter. Infectious disease doctors were quick to clarify President Biden’s remarks during a “60 Minutes” interview where Biden said while COVID remains a problem, “the pandemic is over.” According to Dr. Robert Murphy, professor of infectious disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “I think this was a poorly off the cuff remark that has been taken out of context.” Doctors say while the “emergency” phase of the pandemic may be over due to vaccines and treatments, cases around the world remain high enough where the virus continues to meet the definition of a pandemic. “We are going in the right direction, but this is not the time to give up,” Murphy said. “You give up now and then we are going backward.” Doctors remind people last summer when cases were down, some were declaring victory until the delta and omicron waves hit, making last winter the worst of the pandemic.

A mother/daughter duo must take public transportation to medical appointments and it is extremely unpredictable. Lindsay Allen, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, researches access to healthcare for Medicaid recipients, who are typically marginalized members of society. Within that research, Allen said she focuses on how patients decide where to seek care for nonemergency care and substance use disorder care. Research has found a lack of transportation results in delayed or missed healthcare appointments, poorer health outcomes and increase in healthcare expenses, Allen said. “Just because it exists doesn’t mean it’s actually useful,” Allen said. “Not having access to transportation does worsen people’s health and increase healthcare cost.” A lack of transportation also results in people calling for an ambulance and going to the emergency room for non-emergency care. Wealthy people who have health insurance and a car have the best access to healthcare because they have a large option of healthcare providers to choose from and they can drive to their appointments, Allen said. “The thing that people are not considering is that it’s not just about the getting to the appointment. It’s everything that you have to give up in order to spend an hour and a half one way to get to that clinic,” Allen said. Three hours of travel means additional money spend on child or elder care, three hours of time off from work and three hours exposed to potential safety risks, like routes through dangerous neighborhoods.

Consuming two or more servings of sugary drinks a day may raise the risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer, a new study finds. An analysis of data from nearly 1 million Americans who were followed for almost 30 years reveals that people who consumed sugary beverages had a 5% increase in the risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer when compared to people who consumed no sugary drinks. The diet of Americans has changed a lot since the beginning of CPS-II (Cancer Prevention Study II), said Linda Van Horn, a professor of preventive medicine and chief of the nutrition division at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “I think frankly, the most important thing identified here, which has been pointed out before, is the adverse relationship between any type of cancer and the development of obesity,” Van Horn said. “Keep in mind, the vast majority of us are overweight or obese.”

Gastroenterologists are applauding Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for using their celebrity to show how colonscopy can be both easy and lifesaving. An important take-home message is that colonoscopy is really the best test for screening. The premise of screening is to detect any potential issues before they cause cancer. Rajesh N. Keswani, MD, agrees about the importance of the campaign. “Overall, the message was incredibly effective. Everyone involved from the celebrities to the clinicians did a great job ensuring that all the important points were touched upon.” Further, “Beyond saying that colonoscopy is easy, they prove it by showing the patients laughing and eating after the procedure,” says Keswani, associate professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. There is a large amount of data showing that similar campaigns can improve colon cancer screening rates, most notably when Katie Couric, who lost her husband, televised her colonoscopy to effectively promote colon cancer screening.