Current Events in June 2022

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Society for Nutrition assessed how consumers think about their own diets. Ultimately, the majority of people are likely to report that they eat much healthier than they actually do. 

“We found that only a small percentage of U.S. adults can accurately assess the healthfulness of their diet, and interestingly, it’s mostly those who perceive their diet as poor who are able to accurately assess their diet,” said researcher Jessica Thomson. “Additionally, most adults overrate the quality of their diet, sometimes to a substantial degree.” 

Who’s eating healthy?

The researchers analyzed responses from nearly 10,000 adults enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants completed questionnaires about what they ate and drank in the last 24-hour period and then ranked how healthy they believed their diets to be. The researchers gave participants four categories to describe their diets: poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent. 

The researchers then used the questionnaires to come up with an overall rating of the participants' actual diets. Ultimately, about 85% of the participants inaccurately assessed their own diets, and 99% of those people scored their diets healthier than they actually were. 

Among participants who rated their diets as fair, good, very good or excellent, they only matched the researchers’ rankings between 1% and 18% of the time. However, those who determined their diets to be poor had much better success, matching the team’s ranking 97% of the time. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that more work is done to get a better baseline understanding of consumers’ thought processes when choosing and ranking certain foods.  

“It’s difficult for us to say whether U.S. adults lack an accurate understanding of the components of a healthful versus unhealthful diet or whether adults perceive the healthfulness of their diet as they wish it to be – that is, higher in quality than it actually is,” Thomson said. “Until we have a better understanding of what individuals consider when assessing the healthfulness of their diet, it will be difficult to determine what knowledge and skills are necessary to improve self-assessment or perception of one’s diet quality.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of South Australia explored how vitamin D deficiency may impact long-term cognitive health. According to their findings, not having enough of the vitamin may increase the risk of dementia. 

“Vitamin D is a hormone precursor that is increasingly recognized for widespread effects, including on brain health, but until now it has been very difficult to examine what would happen if we were able to prevent vitamin D deficiency,” said researcher Elina Hyppönen. “Our study is the first to examine the effect of very low levels of vitamin D on the risks of dementia and stroke, using robust and genetic analyses among a large population.”

Cognitive health risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 295,000 people enrolled in the U.K. Biobank. The team measured their vitamin D levels at the start of the study, then followed them over time to determine how they influenced cognitive health. The researchers also accounted for factors like gender, age, ethnicity, sun exposure, and lifestyle, among several others. 

The study showed that lower levels of vitamin D were associated with a higher risk of dementia and stroke. Participants with vitamin D levels under 25 nmol/L were nearly 55% more likely to develop dementia or have a stroke, compared with those whose vitamin D levels were at least 50 nmol/L. 

“Most of us are likely to be okay, but for anyone who for whatever reason may not receive enough vitamin D from the sun, modifications to diet may not be enough, and supplementation may well be needed,” Hyppönen said. 

The study also showed that boosting vitamin D levels may help prevent poor cognitive health. The researchers learned that increasing vitamin D levels to 50 nmol/L could prevent nearly 20% of dementia cases. 

“Dementia is a progressive and debilitating disease that can devastate individuals and families alike,” said Hyppönen. “If we’re able to change this reality through ensuring that none of us is severely vitamin D deficient, it would also have further health benefits and we could change the health and well-being for thousands.” 

Government safety regulators are warning parents not to use a popular infant-to-toddler rocker because at least 13 infants have died in one between 2009 and 2021.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Fisher-Price jointly issued an alert to consumers saying the products should never be used for sleep and children should never be left in one without supervision.

The products in question are the Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers.

Fisher-Price says it has sold more than 17 million of the rockers worldwide since the 1990s and reviews and evaluates reported incidents that occurred while infants were in the products. The company said parents and other caregivers should visit Fisher-Price’s Safe Start webpage for safety videos, tips, and additional safety information, as well as the latest safety warnings for rockers and other infant products. 

Consumers are also encouraged to report incidents to Fisher-Price at 800-432-5437.

Suffocation risk

Products designed to hold infants have long been a concern because of the risk of suffocation. Babies who are unable to move when placed in a rocker, swing, or glider can suffocate if they end up face down.

In 2018 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that parents were still engaging in risky infant sleep practices that were resulting in deaths. At the time, the CDC reported deaths due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) had reached an annual average of about 3,500 a year.

Pediatricians say the best place for an infant to sleep is on a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet, or play yard. Parents and caregivers should use a fitted sheet only and never add blankets, pillows, padded crib bumpers, or other items to an infant’s sleeping environment.

Infants should always be placed to sleep on their back. Infants who fall asleep in an inclined or upright position should be moved to a safe sleep environment with a firm, flat surface such as a crib, bassinet, or play yard.

CPSC recently finalized a rule requiring that infant sleep products have a sleep surface angle of 10 degrees or less. The rule goes into effect next week.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 2,925,968 model year 2013-2019 Escape, model year 2013-2018 C-Max, model year 2013-2016 Fusion, model year 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and model year 2015-2018 Edge vehicles.

The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.

A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause it to move in an unexpected direction.

Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position.

Either situation increases the risk of a crash or injury.

What to do

Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed June 27, 2022.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

Smithfield Packaged Meats of Sioux Center, Iowa, is recalling approximately 185,610 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) bacon topping products.

The products may be contaminated with extraneous materials -- specifically metal.

There have been no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions

The following items, produced between February 21 – 23, 2022, and March 3 – 5, 2022, are being recalled:

• 5-lb. packages containing “Golden Crisp PATRICK CUDAHY PRECOOKED BACON TOPPING” SKU 43200 12002 with lot codes 2054, 2062 and 2063.
• 5-lb. packages containing “Smithfield PRECOOKED BACON TOPPING” SKU 43200 12003 with lot codes 2063 and 2064.
• 5-lb. packages containing “Golden Crisp PATRICK CUDAHY FULLY COOKED BACON TOPPING APPLEWOOD SMOKED” SKU 43200 12296 with lot codes 2053 and 2062.
• 5-lb. packages containing “Smithfield FULLY COOKED BACON TOPPING” SKU 43200 12663 with lot code 2064.
• 5-lb. packages containing “MEMBER’S MARK FULLY COOKED BACON CRUMBLES” SKU 78742240923 with “BEST IF USED BY” date of “2022-11-18.”

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. 27384” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to distributors and retail locations nationwide.

Some of the bacon product may have been used to produce other products.

What to do

Consumers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact the firm at (844) 342-2596.

A new study suggests that consolidating credit card debt can be a shrewd move that can pay off in several ways. In addition to the belief that paying off bills in time can improve credit scores, LendingTree’s latest analysis of the yays and nays of credit card consolidation found that those who consolidated at least $5,000 in credit card debt found their credit scores rose an average of 38 points in as little as a month. 

In fact, the study concludes that the more credit card debt someone pays down with a personal loan, the higher their credit score jumps. Let’s say you pay down $10,000 or more in credit card debt. In that case, credit scores go up an average of 49 points. The inverse is true, as well. The study found that taking out a loan to pay down anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 in credit card debt, borrowers gained an additional 17 points, on average, in a single billing cycle.

While taking out a personal loan to pay down credit card debt can seem a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul, LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said it’s definitely worth the effort.

“A higher credit score is a big, big deal because there are few things in life that are more expensive than crummy credit,” Schulz said. “It can cost you thousands of dollars in the form of higher interest rates on loans, higher insurance premiums and more. It can even keep you from getting that new apartment you’re hoping to rent.”

But Schulz cautioned that even though credit card debt consolidation will likely cause someone’s credit score to go up, there’s more upside to eliminating debt altogether.

“Eliminating that debt can be nothing short of life-changing,” Schulz said. “It can free you up to build an emergency fund, save more for retirement, work toward buying a home or paying for your kids’ college. It’s a big, big deal.”

Where to get the consolidation loans and what to consider

Schulz said that for consumers who have the highest incomes and the best credit scores, getting a personal loan from a bank is the best way to go. “These are probably folks with significant experience with lenders and at least a few other items on that credit report. Those folks have a lot of other data points on their credit report that are influencing their credit score, so one change, even a big one like paying down all that debt, may not be as impactful for them as it would be for someone newer to credit,” he said.

ConsumerAffairs investment advisor Barbara Friedberg agreed. She said that the most clear-cut way to obtain a debt consolidation loan is through a bank or other debt consolidation lending institution. 

Friedberg said that if consumers can’t – or don’t want to – go the bank route, there are three other ways to get out of credit card debt.

0% balance transfer card: Balance transfer credit cards allow consumers to consolidate their debt by transferring the debt of multiple credit cards to one balance transfer card. Friedberg notes that some of those cards include 0% interest offers along with sign-up bonuses and cash-back rewards.

Home equity loan: “Homeowners can take out an amount of money based on the equity they have in the home, determined by the amount of money paid into the mortgage over the value of the home,” Friedberg said, adding that a home equity loan can be taken out to make home improvements, pay large bills or settle other debts.

401(k) loan: One unique approach Friedberg offered is for people who have a 401(k) set up through their employer. For those folks, they can borrow against that account. “Because a 401(k) is a personal retirement savings account, this is essentially borrowing from yourself. Because you’re withdrawing money from an account, not borrowing new money, a 401(k) loan will have no impact on your credit score. 401(k) loans typically require full repayment within five years,” she said

That 401(k) loan idea comes with a warning flag, though. Friedberg said that, most likely, there will be a small interest tacked onto a person’s repayment plan, and they also risk hurting their overall retirement savings plan. For those whose jobs may be shaky, Friedberg raised her warning a little higher. “If you lose your job, you’ll be required to pay back the 401(k) loan by the time your federal income taxes are due for the year,” she said.

If you haven’t booked your flight yet, your summer travel plans just got more expensive. The cost of commercial airline fares continued to rise last month, soaring 12.6% in May after increasing 18.6% in April.

While inflation is pushing up the cost of nearly everything, airfares face an economic “perfect storm.” After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans are ready to travel again, so demand for airline tickets is higher than usual.

At the same time, airlines are facing a shortage of pilots. Many took early retirement at the start of the pandemic at the encouragement of their employers. COVID-19 also led to a reduction in training programs for new pilots.

And then there is the cost of fuel. Distillate prices have recently hit record highs, along with gasoline prices. An airline’s cost to fly from one city to another is significantly higher than six months ago.

But staff shortages may prove to be the biggest driver of high airfares because there will be fewer planes in the air this summer. Back in 2021, United fired about 1% of its workforce for not getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

Problem began pre-pandemic

The management consulting firm Oliver Wyman reports U.S. airlines were facing a growing pilot shortage in 2019, before the pandemic. It traces the problem to an aging workforce, barriers to entry and fewer pilots leaving the military – a significant source of new commercial pilots.

The problem was made worse by how airlines reacted to the pandemic. With a huge drop in business almost overnight, airlines canceled flights and encouraged older pilots to retire. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told analysts in April that he expects the pilot shortage could last for five years or more.

Now that people want to fly again, travel experts say there is more demand than supply, the classic ingredient for inflation. Willis Orlando, senior product operations specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, says demand is really what’s driving the current surge in airfares.

“The airlines are charging a premium right now for summer travel because they can, with demand through the roof,” Orlando told ConsumerAffairs. “But once demand levels out, as it does every autumn, prices should level out with it.”

In the meantime, Orlando says summer travelers should be as flexible as possible. For the best fares, he suggests traveling in the middle of the week and avoiding the most popular destinations.

The already expensive 30-year fixed-rate mortgage got even more expensive this week. After Friday’s sharp rise in the Consumer Price Index, the rate for the most popular mortgage type rose from 5.62% to 5.86%.

According to Mortgage Daily News, it was one of the biggest one-day jumps in rates on record — and 5.86% is just the average. Homebuyers with lower credit scores can expect to pay well over 6%.

As recently as December, homebuyers were paying as little as 3% on a mortgage. The recent increase makes today’s house payments expensive enough to price many potential homebuyers out of the market.

Kate Wood, NerdWallet’s housing market expert, said that’s exactly what the Federal Reserve is trying to do – cool off the red-hot housing market to help ease inflation.

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage leaped the 5% threshold three weeks before May's 50 basis point rise,” Wood told ConsumerAffairs. “Since then, rates for the 30-year fixed have fluctuated but stayed above 5%. Even though we're anticipating additional increases to the federal funds rate throughout the remainder of the year, it's possible that mortgage lenders have already built these into their offered rates.”

The difference in a 3% and a 6% rate is significant: The payment on a $250,000 mortgage at 3% is $1,050. At 6%, it's $1,499 – an extra $5,388 per year.

Exploring other options

People determined to purchase a home in the near future are exploring other options. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have become more popular because their average rate is currently below 4%. But, as the name implies, these rates can adjust over time — and they're currently moving higher.

Others are exploring 40-year loans. Financing a loan over an extra 10 years brings down the monthly payment, but it’s not without risk; with this option, you pay more in interest over the life of the loan.

“I have seen mortgage simulations where a borrower using a 40-year mortgage would pay in interest alone almost what they paid for the home – in essence, almost doubling the cost of the home,” Kristina Morales, a Realtor in Cleveland, Ohio, told us back in April.

Wood advises would-be buyers in this environment to shop carefully for a mortgage to secure the best terms. ConsumerAffairs has vetted the best mortgage lenders and gathered thousands of verified reviews to help you choose the right option for you.

A new study conducted by researchers from Penn State explored how different generations fare when it comes to chronic medical conditions. According to their findings, older adults are more likely than earlier generations to struggle with several health concerns. 

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were beginning to see declines in life expectancy among middle-aged Americans, a reversal of more than a century long trend,” said researcher Steven Haas. “Furthermore, the past 30 years has seen population health in the U.S. fall behind that in other high-income countries, and our findings suggest that the U.S. is likely to continue to fall further behind our peers.” 

Health risks for older adults

The researchers analyzed data from participants over the age of 51 enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study. They were most interested in understanding how many older people have more than one of the nine major types of chronic conditions: cancer, cognitive impairment, heart disease, diabetes, high depressive symptoms, high blood pressure, arthritis, lung disease, and stroke. 

The study showed that older adults were both more likely to have multiple chronic health conditions, and experience them at earlier ages than previous generations. The researchers found that Baby Boomers, who were born between 1948 and 1965, were the most likely to fall into this category. 

They also learned that high blood pressure and arthritis were the two most common chronic conditions that the participants reported throughout the study. Additionally, the team has reason to believe that depression and diabetes were largely responsible for this surge in health concerns among the different generations. 

The researchers also explained that current medical technology allows consumers to be diagnosed with conditions that may have previously gone undetected for several years, which could also explain why this generation of older adults is experiencing more health concerns. Now, the researchers want to do more work in this area to better understand the specifics behind these health concerns. 

“Later-born generations have had access to more advanced modern medicine for a greater period of their lives, therefore we may expect them to enjoy better health than those born to prior generations,” said researcher Nicholas Bishop. “Though this is partially true, advanced medical treatments may enable individuals to live with multiple chronic conditions that once would have proven fatal, potentially increasing the likelihood that any one person experiences multimorbidity.” 

A new study conducted by the American Heart Association explored how women’s exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may impact their heart health. According to their findings, women with the highest traces of the chemicals in their blood may be more than 70% as likely to develop high blood pressure. 

“PFAS are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they never degrade in the environment and contaminate drinking water, soil, air, food, and numerous products we consume or encounter routinely,” said researcher Ning Ding, Ph.D. “One study estimated that two of the most common ‘forever chemicals’ are found in most household drinking water and are consumed by more than two-thirds of Americans. 

“Women seem to be particularly vulnerable when exposed to these chemicals. Our study is the first to examine the association between ‘forever chemicals’ and hypertension in middle-aged women. Exposure may be an underappreciated risk factor for women’s cardiovascular disease risk.” 

Blood pressure risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 1,000 women between the ages of 45 and 56 who were enrolled in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation-Multi-Pollutant Study (SWAN-MPS). All of the women had healthy blood pressure levels at the start of the study, and the researchers followed up with them on a yearly basis from 1999 through 2017 to measure their blood pressure and take blood samples.

The researchers learned that women who had the highest concentrations of PFAS in their blood were at a higher risk of high blood pressure. The study looked at several different types of PFAS, and the researchers learned that some of them posed a bigger risk than others to the women’s blood pressure. Three of the chemicals stood out as having a more than 40% higher risk of high blood pressure: perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and 2-(N-ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetic acid.

“It’s important to note that we examined individual PFAS as well as several PFAS together, and we found that the combined exposure to multiple PFAS had a stronger effect on blood pressure,” said researcher Kyun Park. “Some states are beginning to ban the use of PFAS in food packaging and cosmetic and personal care products. Our findings make it clear that strategies to limit the widespread use of PFAS in products need to be developed. Switching to alternative options may help reduce the incidence of high blood pressure risk in midlife women.”  

Overall, women with the highest levels of all seven PFAS had a more than 70% higher risk of developing high blood pressure. 

“We have known for some time that PFAS disrupts metabolism in the body, yet we didn’t expect the strength of the association we found,” said Park. “We hope that these findings alert clinicians about the importance of PFAS and that they need to understand and recognize PFAS as an important potential risk factor for blood pressure control.” 

Intimidator of Batesville, Ark., is recalling about 16,000 Intimidator and Mahindra branded utility vehicles (UTVs).

The throttle cable can freeze at low ambient temperatures, resulting in a stuck throttle which can cause the brakes to fail to stop the vehicle, posing a crash hazard.

Additionally, on certain model year 2022 Intimidator GC1Ksthe onboard software does not prevent consumers from exceeding 15 mph when the seatbelt is disengaged, posing a crash hazard.

The firm has received 393 reports of throttle cables freezing, including four reports of crashes resulting in bruises. There were no incidents of excess speed when the seatbelt is disengaged.

This recall involves Intimidator and Mahindra branded models 750, 800, 1000, TGB, and GC1K utility vehicles (UTVs) sold in a variety of colors.

“Intimidator” or “Mahindra” is displayed on the front grill and the model series is printed on the rear-side panels.

The vehicle identification number (VIN) can be found on a label inside the glove box, inside the hood compartment and below the driver’s seat.

A list of the recalled vehicles may be found here.

The UTVs, manufactured in the U.S., were sold at Intimidator and Mahindra authorized dealers nationwide from August 2013 through February 2022 for between $11,000 and $21,500.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled utility vehicles and contact an Intimidator or Mahindra authorized dealer to schedule a free repair and to receive a software update/fix for the speed limiter.

Consumers may contact Intimidator toll-free at (855) 307-0933 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CT), Monday through Friday or online depending on their model’s brand at www.intimidatorutv.com/recall/ or www.intimidatorutv.com and click on “Recall Info” near the bottom of the page, www.mahindrausa.com/--recall-notices or www.mahindrausa.com and click on “Recall Notices” at the bottom of the page for more information.

Ford Motor Company is recalling 25,032 model year 2019-2020 Mustangs with 5.0L engines and manual transmissions.

The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) may broadcast an unintended faulted signal to the modules controlling the reverse camera, reverse light and driver assist features, which may disable all of these functions.

A rearview camera or reverse light that is disabled reduces the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash.

Disabled driver assist features (traction control, forward collision warning, blind spot warning, cross traffic indicator) may increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

Dealers will update the PCM software free of charge.

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S37.

Bitcoin entered the week in near freefall. The cryptocurrency fell past $24,000, losing nearly 18% between midday Sunday and Monday. It’s the coin’s lowest value since December 2020.

The chain reaction took its toll on The Celsius Network, which put its 1.7 million customers on alert that "extreme market conditions" had forced it to pause all withdrawals, swaps, and account transfers.

“Acting in the interest of our community is our top priority. Our operations continue and we will continue to share information with the community,” the company said in a memo to its investor community. “We understand that this news is difficult, but we believe that our decision … is the most responsible action we can take to protect our community. We are working with a singular focus: to protect and preserve assets to meet our obligations to customers.

“Our ultimate objective is stabilizing liquidity and restoring withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts as quickly as possible. There is a lot of work ahead as we consider various options, this process will take time, and there may be delays.”

More caught in the snowball effect

The snowball effect may have started with Celcius, but it didn’t stop there. Binance also tweeted that it paused bitcoin withdrawals temporarily in response to a "stuck transaction causing a backlog.”

Consumers will have to wait to see if Binance’s move will send the snowball rolling further downhill. When it comes to trading volume, the platform is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. To make matters worse, the pause is happening right in the middle of a swift cryptocurrency market sell-off. 

The value of Bitcoin’s cryptocurrency kin – Ether – actually had it worse. By noon on Monday, its value had fallen more than 20% in a 24-hour period. Things look pretty bleak for other cryptocurrencies too. Binance Coin (BNB) fell by nearly 16%, Ripple (XRP) fell by 14%, and Dogecoin's value plummeted by (DOGE) 19%. 

Things are also bad at Coinbase – the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Protocol reports that employees are pushing the exchange firm to remove three top leaders over actions "that have led to questionable results.” 

Going to the grocery store is becoming an expensive proposition. In addition to rising gas prices, food-at-home prices are up 11.9% over the past year, making it the largest 12-month increase in more than 40 years.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), every aisle at the grocery store was affected – the index for fruits and vegetables was up 8.2%; prices for meats, poultry, and fish rose by 14.2%; and the index for eggs surged by 32.2%. 

However, there are some bright spots, albeit only two that ConsumerAffairs could find. The price for strawberries is down 12.25%, and romaine lettuce is priced 6.1% lower than it was back in April.

Prepare for prices to go up during the summer

The pressure on flour availability because of the war in Ukraine took its toll on foodstuffs that are dependent on grains. The price of chocolate chip cookies is up 7.9% per pound, and spaghetti and macaroni prices are up 6.1% per pound. Mondelez International – the world’s largest producer of cookies and crackers – said its overall input costs will be about 10% to 13% higher this year.

Unfortunately, that pressure is not likely to ease anytime soon. H&S Bakery in Baltimore, which produces bread to grocery stores and restaurants up and down the East Coast, told CBS News that it is struggling to find the ingredients it needs.

"You're going to see another increase in July that's going to impact another 35% increase on flour," said JR Paterakis, the co-owner of H&S Bakery. "That's strictly related to Ukraine-Russian war."

Membership clubs offer a respite

To offset the rising prices on individual packages of food, membership clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco are benefiting from shoppers who are buying larger quantities of products that have low per-item costs. 

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Costco saw a 10+% increase in same-store sales – led by food items like candy, bakery, and deli – as well as a 9.2% rise in membership fees from the same period last year. 

Luckily for its members, Costco said it’s not going to take advantage of the situation by raising membership fees -- at least not anytime soon.

"Given the current macro environment, the historically high inflation, and the burden it's having on our members and all consumers in general, we think increasing our membership fee today ahead of our typical timing is not the right time,” said Bob Nelson, Costco’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations.

COVID-19 ‌tally‌ ‌as‌ ‌‌compiled‌‌ ‌by‌ ‌Johns‌ ‌Hopkins‌ ‌University.‌ ‌(Previous‌ ‌numbers‌ ‌in‌ ‌parentheses.)‌

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌confirmed‌ ‌cases:‌ 85,515,980 (85,500,976)

Total‌ ‌U.S.‌ ‌deaths:‌ 1,011,277 (1,011,259)

Total‌ ‌global‌ ‌cases:‌ 535,319,747 (535,153,489)

Total ‌global‌ ‌deaths:‌ 6,309,616 (6,309,255 )‌

FDA poised to approve vaccinations for kids under five

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its analysis of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and said it appears to be safe and effective for children under age five, according to a report by the Associated Press. An FDA advisory committee meets this week to discuss the data.

If the committee votes to recommend the shots for young children, officials say vaccinations could begin as early as next week. First, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would have to formally approve the vaccinations.

Children between the ages of six months and four are the last group of Americans not yet eligible for vaccinations.

Inhaled vaccine more effective than nasal sprays, scientists say

Scientists, who are already working on the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, are debating which delivery method is the most effective. Some researchers advocate for a nasal spray, saying it should be deployed at the location of infection.

But scientists at McMaster University in Canada argue that inhaled aerosol vaccines provide far better protection and a stronger immune response than nasal sprays. They point out that inhaled aerosols bypass the nasal passage and deliver vaccine droplets deep in the airway, where they can “induce a broad protective immune response.”

“Infections in the upper respiratory tract tend to be non-severe,” said  Matthew Miller, a co-author of the study. “In the context of infections caused by viruses like influenza or SARS-CoV-2, it tends to be when the virus gets deep into the lung that it makes you really sick.” 

Vaccine may provide strong protection for heart patients

For people being treated for cardiac issues, doctors have some urgent advice: Get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

Scientists writing in the Journal of Cardiac Failure say heart failure patients who are unvaccinated are three times more likely to die if infected with the virus than fully boosted heart failure patients. The study is the first to look at COVID-19 vaccination status and outcomes in patients with this cardiovascular condition.

Researchers said they launched the study because many cardiac patients expressed fear of getting vaccinated due to the risk of vaccine-related myocarditis, which is rare.

Around the nation

• Michigan: New cases of COVID-19 declined again last week. The previous week, there were 10 counties classified as having a “high risk” of transmission. Last week, the number of counties where officials urge residents to mask up fell to only five – Mackinac, Saginaw, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties.

• New York:  New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced plans to end the city’s controversial mandate for two- to four-year-old children to wear masks in public, citing a continuing decline in cases. The mask mandate for Broadway theaters and public transit continues, at least for now.

• Alabama: State health officials say that because so many COVID-19 tests are now conducted at home, their results rarely make it into the official records. But the one metric that has remained useful, they say, is hospitalizations. Unfortunately, that number has moved higher over the last few weeks.

• Oklahoma: State health officials are expressing concern about a rise in severe COVID-19 cases among children. Over the last few days, at least one child under five has died of COVID-19. Pediatric patients account for 24 of the state’s 122 COVID-19 hospitalizations.

• Kansas: Cases of the coronavirus may be rising, but health officials say there are fewer severe cases. Experts at the University of Kansas Health System say Omicron BA.2 has largely been eclipsed by another subvariant, BA.2.12.1, which is causing fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

With home prices at record highs and mortgage rates well over 5%, fewer Americans are buying homes – a fact reflected in the most recent mortgage data.

Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications for mortgages fell by 6.5% in just one week. That was followed by a report from property data firm ATTOM showing that residential mortgage origination in the first quarter of this year fell 18% from the fourth quarter of last year.

That’s the largest quarterly decrease since 2017 and down 32% from the first quarter of 2021. While much of the decline was in refinancing existing mortgages, mainly because rates are now the highest in about a decade, it’s clear that there are fewer buyers in the current market.

Deborah Hauser, executive director of the Boston real estate firm Senné, says the combination of rising mortgage rates and rising home prices are hitting first-time buyers the hardest.

“First-time homebuyers represent the largest share – 31% – of people purchasing homes, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR),” Hauser told ConsumerAffairs. “And most first-time buyers are younger than 40, which means the buyer pool is deep, a good indication that demand will remain strong, especially since housing inventory is at historical lows.”

It’s getting harder to buy a home

The new housing market environment requires buyers to have higher incomes and larger down payments in order to purchase a similarly priced home from last December, when interest rates were around 3%. That will price many first-time buyers out of the market because Hauser says lenders are not likely to budge from their strict underwriting standards.

“Processes to prevent mortgage defaults have been in place for a number of years, so we are less likely to see that affect housing and since we are woefully behind in new construction, the demand will continue to outpace supply in the foreseeable future so housing is predicted to remain solid for a number more years,” she said.

If not for the lack of available homes for sale, prices might soften considerably in this environment. Because there are still enough buyers who can afford the higher prices for the limited number of available homes, market experts like Hauser expect that sellers will remain in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future.