Pope Francis injured his right arm after suffering a fall earlier this week. According to the Vatican, while the 88-year-old pontiff did not break his arm, a sling was put on as a precaution. This incident comes just weeks after another fall on December 7, where he hit his chin on a nightstand, resulting in another, visible bruise. The pope's health has been a topic of ongoing speculation due to his age and medical history, which includes long bouts of bronchitis and mobility challenges. Often seen using a wheelchair or a cane, Francis also uses a walker within the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel, where he resides. Notably, his frailty has brought renewed attention to the risks of falls among elderly individuals and the steps one must follow to mitigate such falls.

Preventive Measures For Bone Health

A study published in Frontiers in Aging Neurosciences people get older, the bone density in the lower back and thigh bone decreases significantly. This raises the risk of osteoporosis (OP). Therefore it becomes pivotal to pay early attention to nutrition, exercise ability, vitamin D levels, and uric acid levels in older individuals to prevent Ostreopsis and mitigate fall risks. The risk of falls and bone injuries among elderly individuals underscores the importance of preventive measures for maintaining bone health and minimizing fall risks.

Elderly, particularly menopausal women, require a daily calcium intake of 1,200 mg, divided into two or more doses. This can be achieved through dietary sources such as dairy and non-dairy products or through supplements like calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. However, total daily calcium intake should not exceed 2,500 mg to avoid potential health risks.

Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and bone mineralization. While sunlight exposure helps synthesize vitamin D, older individuals often require supplements due to reduced skin synthesis and the limited availability of foods. Fortified milk and supplements containing 200–600 IU of vitamin D daily are recommended, with higher doses required for those with deficiencies. Severe cases may necessitate high-dose treatments, such as 50,000 IU weekly for up to three months, along with regular monitoring of calcium and vitamin D levels.

Regular exercise is vital for preserving bone mass and reducing fall risk. Weight-bearing activities, strength training, and balance exercises like brisk walking or skipping can enhance bone density and improve coordination. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week, supplemented by strength training twice weekly. For individuals unable to engage in standard exercise routines, alternatives like vibrating platforms may help maintain bone health.

Falls remain a leading cause of fractures among individuals over 60. Addressing contributing factors such as balance issues, vision problems, and environmental hazards can significantly reduce risks. Preventive measures include regular vision checks, minimizing medications causing dizziness, improving home safety (e.g., installing railings and removing loose rugs), and wearing rubber-soled footwear. Hip protectors may also help mitigate the impact of falls.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have ended, but memories of overwhelmed hospitals, medicine shortages, overworked healthcare workers and deaths remain fresh for many who lost loved ones.

US-registered nurse and whistleblower Kimberly Overton has claimed that some COVID-19 patients died because of hospital treatment protocols, including the use of remdesivir and ventilators.

“Patients did not die of COVID. They were killed by hospital protocols — remdesivir, ventilators, and the denial of life-saving treatments,” Overton claimed on several podcasts.

Nurses Claims Patients Died From Hospital Protocols

Overton has also described what she says she witnessed while working in an ICU during the pandemic.

“Ventilators are the new gas chambers." "I worked ICU during the pandemic... I could not watch one more of my patients needlessly die due to deadly hospital protocols."

“No bodies piling up at homes or on streets — they were dying inside hospitals from medical mismanagement and a corrupt system. This wasn't a virus. It was protocol murder”.

Overton founded the Nurse Freedom Network, a US-based organization that advocates for nurses, patients and informed consent and has amplified criticism of COVID-era hospital protocols.

Also read: Natural Origin or Lab Leak? Gabbard Reignites COVID Origins Debate, Claims Fauci Funded Wuhan Lab Research

Overton is not the first nurse to make such claims.

In 2023, Gail McCrae, who worked at a hospital in California's Bay Area, also criticized COVID-era hospital protocols and the use of remdesivir.

McCrae said remdesivir was the main medication nurses at her hospital were allowed to administer to hospitalized COVID-19 patients. She also questioned the timing of treatment, claiming patients were receiving the drug 10 to 12 days after symptoms began.

During one double shift, McCrae said she noticed an increase in “code blue” calls, referring to emergencies requiring resuscitation or immediate medical intervention.

“And nine out of 10 times those code blues were to the lower level, down to the clinic, where they were injecting people. [Two of] my colleagues did in fact go into anaphylaxis, after receiving their shots.”

What Was The Remdesivir Controversy?

Remdesivir became one of the first widely used antiviral treatments for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the US.

Read More: COVID Hearing: US Senate Panel Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt; Phone Records Under Review

The NIH-backed ACTT-1 trial found that remdesivir shortened recovery time, with patients recovering in a median of 10 days compared with 15 days in the placebo group. However, the WHO-led Solidarity trial found little or no effect on mortality, need for ventilation or hospital stay.

In November 2020, WHO issued a conditional recommendation against using remdesivir in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, citing insufficient evidence that it improved survival or other important outcomes.

The US FDA, meanwhile, granted full approval to remdesivir in October 2020 for certain hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Trump Also Received Remdesivir

Read More: COVID Hearing: US Senate Panel Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt; Phone Records Under Review

Then-US President Donald Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after testing positive for COVID-19 in October 2020. His treatment included remdesivir.

Dr Anthony Fauci, who led the US response to the pandemic, had earlier described remdesivir as a potential “standard of care” after early trial results showed that it reduced recovery time.

COVID Origins and Deaths

According to the WHO, more than 7.1 million COVID-19 deaths have been officially reported worldwide since the pandemic began.

However, WHO cautions that the reported figure does not necessarily reflect the actual number of deaths because countries differ in testing, definitions and reporting practices, and many have reduced or stopped reporting COVID-19 deaths.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.2 million COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in the United States since the pandemic began.

WHO's latest data also show that COVID-19 deaths continue to be reported globally, although surveillance and reporting have declined significantly.

The origins of SARS-CoV-2 also remain under investigation. The major hypotheses include zoonotic spillover and a possible laboratory-related incident, with scientific assessments continuing to evolve.

Seven in 10 general practitioners in the United Kingdom believe adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is being overdiagnosed, according to a survey of 829 doctors.

The observation has reignited debate over the dramatic increase in adult ADHD referrals and diagnoses.

The survey, conducted by GP publication Pulse, found that 410 GPs described adult ADHD as “very overdiagnosed” while 173 considered it “slightly overdiagnosed”.

Only 50 said it was diagnosed about right, while 148 believed it was underdiagnosed to some degree.

Pulse said that the survey should be viewed as a GP's opinion rather than a proven scientific estimate of overdiagnosis.

The survey also found that GPs estimated an average of 81.3% of patients they referred to adult ADHD services eventually received a positive diagnosis.

But that figure does not mean that 81% of people with suspected ADHD have it. These patients had already been referred for an assessment by a specialist, meaning they had passed through an initial clinical screening process.

Doctors Are Concerned About ADHD Overdiagnosis In Adults

Some GPs responding to the survey raised concerns that assessments may sometimes be too narrow and focus on identifying ADHD without considering other conditions that can cause similar symptoms that could overlap with ADHD. These can include anxiety, depression, trauma and other mental health conditions.

One GP told Pulse that they were concerned about “superficial” assessments and whether patients’ histories of trauma or adverse childhood experiences were being considered accurately.

There are also concerns around the growing use of private assessment providers. Some GPs surveyed said they believed positive diagnosis rates were higher among private providers than NHS services, although these are individual doctors’ observations rather than evidence represented nationally.

At the same time, Dr Katie Bramall, chair of the BMA's GP committee, argued that a high positive diagnosis rate among referred patients is not necessarily evidence of overdiagnosis.

She said lengthy NHS waits may mean that only people who remain convinced that ADHD is affecting them significantly eventually reach assessment.

She also pointed to changing understanding of ADHD, including how it can present in women and adults, as one reason more people are being recognised.

Also read: Botox And Fillers: UK Watchdog Says Clinics Should Check Mental Health Before Injecting

Is ADHD Being Overdiagnosed?

An interim report from the UK government's independent review of ADHD, autism and mental health conditions said recorded ADHD diagnoses in England have increased, particularly among younger adults and women.

The NHS's independent ADHD Taskforce has previously estimated adult ADHD prevalence at around 2-3%, while recorded diagnoses were significantly lower in earlier datasets. The taskforce concluded that under-recognition remained a problem.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has also agreed that the rise in diagnoses should not be automatically interpreted as overdiagnoses of ADHD.

It has pointed to other factors like better awareness and improved recognition, while also addressing concerns about online self-assessment that may not be always accurate.

The government review therefore says that the current situation is more complex than simply labelling ADHD as either overdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. It highlights the lack of recent, large-scale representative data measuring adult ADHD prevalence in England.

On the other hand, demand for ADHD treatment continues to climb. NHS figures cited by Pulse show prescriptions for ADHD medicines increased by 29% between July 2025 and June 2026 compared with the previous 12 months, with an average of 238,000 patients receiving these medicines each month.

Also read: ADHD: Your Pupils May Explain How The Brain Handles Attention, Says New Indian Study

Signs of ADHD

For people asking themselves if they might have ADHD, one must look to medical sources over social media popularity. The NHS says that signs of ADHD in adults are most often:

• Difficulty with organization and time management
• Having trouble with following instructions
• Having trouble keeping one's focus on tasks and seeing them through
• Feeling restless or being impatient
• Risk-taking and being impulsive
• Trouble in relationships or in social situations

Medicine safety must become everyone’s responsibility, the Indian government said today while launching the Biovigilance Program to monitor adverse events linked to organ and tissue transplantation.

Under the program, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) will lead efforts to strengthen the reporting, assessment, monitoring and prevention of adverse events associated with medicines and biological products used in organ and tissue transplantation, including products administered to donors and recipients.

Together, pharmacovigilance, materiovigilance and biovigilance initiatives will strengthen safety monitoring across medicines, medical devices and transplant procedures.

The program was launched by Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers Anupriya Patel at the 6th National Pharmacovigilance Week organized by the IPC at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

New Medicine Safety Initiatives

Patel also launched initiatives to help healthcare professionals make informed, evidence-based decisions when prescribing and using medicines. These include:

• The 7th Edition of the National Formulary of India (NFI),
• The Guidance Document for Hospitals in India for Safety Monitoring and Reporting of Medical Device-Related Adverse Events,
• The ADR-PvPI 2.0 Mobile App for iOS users.

“Rational use of medicines and continuous safety monitoring are integral to public health,” said Patel. She added that “every patient must receive the right medicine, of assured quality, in the right manner and with the highest possible degree of safety”.

“The NFI serves as an important bridge between scientific standards and clinical practice, guiding healthcare professionals in the appropriate and rational use of medicines,” Patel said.

India’s Pharmacovigilance Network

Patel emphasized that medicine safety is a continuous responsibility—from the development and manufacture of a drug or medical device to its prescription, dispensing, use and post-market monitoring.

She also highlighted the country’s progress in pharmacovigilance, noting that “India has built a strong indigenous ecosystem capable of generating, collecting, processing and analyzing medicine-safety data from across the country”.

India has moved from the 123rd position during 2009–2014 to 8th globally in contributions to the WHO patient safety database, Patel said.

The Pharmacovigilance Program of India (PvPI), coordinated by the National Coordination Centre at IPC, systematically collects, assesses and analyzes adverse drug reaction information. The Materiovigilance Program of India (MvPI) monitors adverse events associated with medical devices.

AI And Patient Reporting

Patel said digital initiatives, including NFI Online, IP Online, ADR-PvPI 2.0 Mobile App and the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring System (ADRMS), are making medicine-related information and adverse-event reporting more accessible, transparent and responsive.

She called for greater use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, to strengthen medicine-safety systems and enable timely generation and use of safety evidence.

The Minister also stressed the need to increase patient participation in adverse-event reporting. She noted that digital platforms, mobile applications and helplines have made reporting easier, and called for addressing the “missing link” of patient reporting.

"Around 1,150 ADR reporting centers are currently operational across public and private hospitals and medical colleges in the country, along with medical-device vigilance facilities. The government plans to expand these capabilities to the primary healthcare level," Patel said.

India’s Patient Safety Push

Referring to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, Patel said patient safety must remain a key national priority. She called for India to build on its position as the “pharmacy of the world” and aspire to become a global leader in pharmacovigilance sciences and patient safety.

“Medicine safety must become everyone’s responsibility. Every single reported event can save a life.”

She said collective participation would be critical to building a strong culture of medicine safety and promoting the rational use of medicines.