You Need A Better Mask

PLUS: Kids are eating too much junk food.

View this email online Shots Health News To Know Now Ana Galvañ for NPR Campus-wide pizza parties, free tuition, free housing, free parking, puppies and even carnival games: Those are just some of the incentives colleges are offering to get students vaccinated. Sounds expensive for those schools, right? It’s apparently worth the cost for at least some colleges who hope it will eventually save them money on coronavirus testing and the need for COVID-19 dorms.  Read on for more about the extremes colleges are going to, to persuade students to get vaccinated.  If it seems like your children or grandkids are eating junk food all the time, they probably are. Kids and teens in the U.S. get two-thirds of their calories from ultra-processed foods like frozen pizza, microwavable meals, chips and cookies, a new study has found. This is "particularly worrisome," says the study's lead author, because kids’ eating habits usually follow them into adulthood. Read on for more on how the food choices a child makes today can affect them later in life.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message Be Well Michele Abercrombie/NPR Yep, it's time to mask up again (sigh). We knew this might happen, and here it is. But before you dig out and dust off all your old cloth masks, it may be time for an upgrade. "Masks still work, but with delta, we need better-performing masks," says Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies airborne virus transmission. So what makes a good, delta-prevention mask? We have the rundown.  Read on for tips on how to significantly boost the protection your face mask offers. PLUS: What you need to know about getting a “booster” shot of COVID vaccine if you have a weakened immune system. Parenthood  Lindsey Balbierz for NPR Remember before you had kids when you would see a tired mom or dad in sweatpants with a stained shirt looking slightly delirious in the grocery store? Remember when you swore that would never be you?  Parenthood is a huge, complicated and kind of awkward life transition that can rock every fiber of a person's being, say experts. This week Life Kit corralled some advice specifically aimed at moms-to-be (and moms already in the thick of it) that can help any parent get their bearings. Read on for 5 tips on making it through.  PLUS: Get your family running more smoothly with small business tricks.  Our Best Buddies Pixabay The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once suggested that if aliens were watching us with telescopes and saw our interactions with dogs, they might think dogs were the leaders: "If you see two life forms — one of them is making a poop and the other is carrying it for him — who would you assume is in charge?" So how did canines go from underdogs living bleak lives in backyards and shelters to our pampered little overlords, somehow deserving of orthopedic beds, massages, doggie antidepressants and food better than most human meals?  Read on for how the recent "pet revolution" unleashed a new top dog on America.  We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism on Shots and follow us on Twitter at @NPRHealth. All best, Your Shots Editors Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: shots@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Goats & Soda, Daily News, Best of NPR and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Health emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy