As billions of dollars from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors go to state and local governments, efforts to reduce the epidemic’s harm can be hamstrung by drug paraphernalia laws. Health authorities say distributing clean syringes to users can save lives, but in states like Pennsylvania, it may be illegal.
Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions.
HHS has plans to debar the infectious disease nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance from being awarded federal funds due to lack of “responsibility.”
In contrast to police statements, volunteer medics said they treated serious wounds as UCLA’s pro-Palestinian protest was besieged by police and counterprotesters, including some injuries that appeared to be caused by “less lethal” projectiles fired by cops.
A California lawmaker wants the state to craft guidelines for how and when schoolchildren can play or exercise during extreme weather, including heat waves. The bill comes after a 12-year-old boy died after a physical education instructor told him to run as the temperature topped 90 degrees.
Sacramento public health officials have confirmed one pediatric measles case and about 200 potential exposures after a child visited the UC Davis Medical Center’s emergency department in early May.
More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn’t a danger in their facilities.
The FDA is preparing to respond should bird flu begin circulating more widely among humans, though the threat the disease currently poses to humans remains low, the agency’s commissioner Robert Califf, MD, told senators May 8.
Three people have contracted Mycobacterium abscessus after receiving stem cell treatments in Mexico, according to a May 9 report issued by the CDC.
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…
