Category: Public Health

They Were Shot at the Super Bowl Parade — And Might Have Bullets in Their Bodies Forever

Despite the rise of gun violence in America, few medical guidelines exist on removing bullets from survivors’ bodies. In the second installment of our series “The Injured,” we meet three people shot at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade who are dealing with the bullets inside them in different ways.

Alzheimer's may be inherited more often than previously thought

 New research has found that nearly all people with two copies of the gene variant APOE4 develop biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting the gene may be its own, distinct form of the disease rather than only a risk factor. 

What’s Keeping the US From Allowing Better Sunscreens?

A decade after Congress told the FDA to expedite the approval of more effective sunscreens, the federal government still has not approved sunscreen ingredients that are safely being used around the world. Meanwhile, skin cancer is the nation’s most common cancer.

Stranded in the ER, Seniors Await Hospital Care and Suffer Avoidable Harm

Many older adults who need hospital care are getting stuck in emergency room limbo — sometimes for more than a day. The long ER waits for seniors who are frail, with multiple medical issues, lead to a host of additional medical problems.

Hospital experts fret over potential bird flu outbreak

As it stands, federal health officials say the risk avian flu poses to public health is low. If that were to change, hospital leaders say they don’t feel any more prepared in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they fear they would face a repeat of chal…

Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It’s Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us — Yet.

Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn’t spreading among people — but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona

A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

People in rural counties more likely to die of preventable causes: CDC

Americans living in rural counties are more likely to die of preventable causes than those living in urban areas, a new CDC study suggests. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.