There are a lot of pluses to living in the country, such as open space and fresh air.

Good health, however, may not be one of them. A new CDC report compared working-age Americans who lived in rural or small urban counties with their counterparts living in large urban counties. All were asked to rate their health.

Rural folks rated theirs worse than their city cousins. Researchers say there are likely several underlying reasons: lower education, household income and probability of employment.

Body of Knowledge

More than half of the bones in your body are located in the hands, wrists, feet and ankles.

Get Me That, Stat!

Vaccine hesitancy in the early months of COVID-19 vaccinations was higher among Black people than among whites, but it also fell faster.

In December 2020, vaccine hesitancy hovered around 38% among Blacks compared with 28% among whites. By June 2021, it was 11% lower at 27% among Blacks, but just 1% lower among whites at 27%.

"Black individuals in the U.S. are cautious in their use of novel medical technologies for good reason — the history of abuse by medical and research communities is real — but they are just as likely as White individuals to embrace vaccination once they are convinced that vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary," wrote researchers who conducted the study, suggesting that differences in who gets vaccinated may come down to who has access.

Mark Your Calendar

March is awareness month for colorectal cancer, endometriosis, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities, bleeding disorders and trisomy, which is when a person has 47 chromosomes, not the typical 46. That third chromosome, combined with the normal pair, is associated with a variety of inherited disorders.

Stories for the Waiting Room

It's not a stroke of luck. Ten years ago, 20% of Americans couldn't get to a hospital in time to treat their strokes with the best clot-busting medication. But things have improved. Researchers say 96% of Americans now live within 60 minutes of either an emergency stroke center or of facilities with telestroke capabilities that can solicit immediate expertise.

Doc Talk

Peripheral oedema: swollen ankle

Phobia of the Week

Amaxophobia: fear of riding in or driving a car

Food for Thought

This month, we'll look at some the "defects" that the Food and Drug Administration says are OK in food as long as they remain below specified levels. To wit: canned mushrooms can include more than 20 maggots "of any size" and 75 mites per 100 grams. No more than 10% percent of mushrooms can be "decomposed."

Best Medicine

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Ig Nobel Apprised

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that's hard to take seriously, and even harder to ignore.

In 1998, the Ig Nobel Prize in science education went to Dolores Krieger, an advocate of "therapeutic touch," in which caregivers manipulate the energy fields of ailing people by carefully avoiding physical contact with said ailing people.

Sum Body

Five reasons why coffee may be a health food.

No. 1: It's rich in antioxidants.

No. 2: It's associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

No. 3: It might stave off cognitive decline.

No. 4: It may help protect the heart.

No. 5: It eases symptoms of depression.

Recent research suggests the optimum amount of daily coffee consumption is three cups. Of course, loading your coffee with sugar and cream counteracts some of its healthful benefits.

Last Words

"C'mon. Let's get this day over and done with." — Spoken by Peter Brock, an Australian race car driver, to the track marshal before a 2006 race in which he crashed and was killed.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: TheDigitalArtist at Pixabay