Category: Public Health

Drug resistant infections reported after stem cell treatments in Mexico

Three people have contracted Mycobacterium abscessus after receiving stem cell treatments in Mexico, according to a May 9 report issued by the CDC.

KFF Health Tracking Poll May 2024: The Public’s Use and Views of GLP-1 Drugs

KFF’s latest Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s views and use of an an increasingly popular class of prescription drugs used for weight loss and to treat diabetes or prevent heart attacks or strokes. The poll finds 12% of adults report having t…

Poll: 1 in 8 Adults Say They’ve Taken a GLP-1 Drug, Including 4 in 10 of Those with Diabetes and 1 in 4 of Those with Heart Disease 

About one in eight adults (12%) say they have taken one of an increasingly popular class of prescription drugs known as GLP-1s that are used for weight loss and to treat diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, a new KFF Health Trackin…

Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay for Threats to Reproductive Rights

Democrats running for office are using abortion rollbacks to galvanize voters, with abortion rights ballot initiatives amplifying their lines of attack. In Missouri, the leading Democratic candidate for the Senate also blames Republican Sen. Josh Hawley for threatening access to IVF.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Newly Minted Doctors Are Avoiding Abortion Ban States

For the second year in a row, medical school graduates across specialties are shying away from applying for residency training in states with abortion bans or significant restrictions, according to a new study. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trustees report that the program will be able to pay its bills longer than expected — which could discourage Congress from acting to address the program’s long-term financial woes. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

A 'neglected parasitic infection' comes to light

A little-known parasitic infection in the brain has come into the spotlight following presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.’s admission that he once suffered from it, NBC News reported May 8.

Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions

A new analysis shows that students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residency positions in states with abortion bans and other significant abortion restrictions.

New COVID variant makes up 25% of US cases: CDC

A new COVID-19 variant now makes up 25% of cases in the nation, the CDC said.

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.