A recent survey has shown that a large proportion of healthcare providers are finding that cultural competency is becoming increasingly important in medicine. Cultural competency, in essence, is the ability of an individual to understand and respect another’s culture background and practices. In recent years, doctors and medical students have felt underprepared in treating patients who come from underrepresented populations. As a whole, this issue is one that can potentially deter healthcare workers from providing quality healthcare to minority populations in the U.S. 

A study found that doctors who come from minority backgrounds or who identify as female are more predisposed to treating marginalized and Medicaid-eligible populations. Many say that systemic change surrounding healthcare needs to be conducted in order to familiarize providers with diverse backgrounds and improve the quality of care given to underserved groups. Initiatives like these can potentially usher in a new era of healthcare that is both more effective and accessible for individuals throughout the United States. 

In a study conducted by neuroscientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, it was discovered that there may be some potential in analyzing the specific neurons in control of bodily repair after a spinal cord injury, allowing these patients to walk after having experienced paralysis. In 2018, the neuroscientists explored the activity of the nerves of nine patients a few of which were completely paralyzed in the lower half of their body. While investigating, the scientists found that certain groups of neurons or networks were operating during the recovery period, while others remained dormant. However, this idea was still quite novel and required much more research, so they decided to take their study one step further and examine their findings within mice, replicating the injuries the humans faced.

Through the use of machine learning in the gene expression, the scientists learned that specific nerve cells connecting sensory and motor neurons inside the mice were being expressed and activated during the recovery process of learning to walk once again. When the scientists regulated the neurons through optogenetics and prohibited these nerve cells from being expressed, the mice were no longer able to walk. Although the use of optogenetics is currently not feasible within human bodies, the study is quite promising and can hopefully be conducted soon and applied in the medical field to accelerate the recovery process after a severe injury.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla comments, “as we head into the holiday season, we hope these updated data will encourage people to seek out a COVID-19 bivalent booster as soon as they are eligible to maintain high levels of protection against the widely circulating Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages.”
 
As the surge of Omicron BA.4/BA.5 sweeps the world, researchers focus on the booster’s efficacy. The new bivalent booster improves the immune response to these new variants compared to the original Covid-19 vaccine. According to Pfizer and BioNTech, it is four times more effective at fighting the Omicron variants in older patients, though the data has not been peer-reviewed or published. This information was released after the conclusion of two studies measuring immune response five weeks post-booster dose. 

Larger trials are currently conducting larger-scale trials and testing against new variants. This is an important issue, as experts recommend that citizens need review protection regardless of previous vaccination or infection. Studies show that upwards of 90,000 Covid-related deaths could be avoided if more people receive the updated booster before the end of the year.