Federal protections of transgender students are launching where courts haven’t blocked them
New federal protections for transgender students at U.S. schools and colleges will take effect Thursday with muted impact because judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in 21 states and hundreds of individual colleges and schools across the country. The regulation also adds protections for pregnant students and students who are parents,...
Boar’s Head expands recall to include 7 million more pounds of deli meats tied to listeria outbreak
The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday. The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10...
Wildfire smoke may be worse for your brain than other air pollution, study says
Wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution, according to new research linking it to an increased risk of dementia. The findings, reported Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires...
Blood test for colon cancer screening is approved by U.S. regulators
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Monday approved a first-of-its-kind blood test for colon cancer, offering a new way of screening for a leading cause of cancer deaths. Test manufacturer Guardant said the Food and Drug Administration approved its Shield test for screening in adults 45 and older who have...
Infants’ tongue-tie may be overdiagnosed and needlessly treated, American Academy of Pediatrics says
NEW YORK — Tongue-tie —a condition in infants that can affect breastfeeding — may be overdiagnosed in the U.S. and too often treated with unnecessary surgery, a prominent doctors’ group said Monday. The American Academy of Pediatrics is the latest, and largest, medical society to sound an alarm about the...
Franklin Regional grad takes over Independence concussion management programVideo
When Alex Fleming was helping the Franklin Regional Panthers football team win the PIAA’s 2005 AAA championship, he wasn’t thinking much about concussion protocol. But as the 2007 Franklin Regional graduate moved on to Davidson College — where he played football while pursuing a biology degree before earning his medical...
‘Black Therapy 101’ event addresses mental health stigma, promotes healing in Black community
According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are more likely than white adults to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress. Yet, according to the American Psychiatric Association, only one in three Black people receive mental health treatment. Mental health awareness, counseling...
Listeria outbreak linked to deli meat includes Pennsylvania
A listeria outbreak linked to deli meat has affected 12 states — including Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two people have died, and there have been at least 28 people infected, the CDC said. No recalls have been issued. “Investigators are collecting information to determine...
Long covid risk has decreased but remains significant, study finds
LOS ANGELES — The risk of developing long covid — enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection — has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated. But the dip does not mean...
UN says nearly 40 million people had HIV in 2023; lack of treatment means someone died every minute
UNITED NATIONS — Nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS last year, over 9 million weren’t getting any treatment, and the result was that every minute someone died of AIDS-related causes, the U.N. said in a new report launched Monday. While advances are being...
More money could result in fewer trips to ER, study suggests
Giving cash to poor people could result in fewer emergency department visits, a new study suggests. The study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at almost 2,900 low-income people who applied for a lottery in the Boston suburb of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Nearly 1,750 of them...
2 deaths linked to listeria food poisoning from meat sliced at deli counters
At least two people have died and more than two dozen were hospitalized in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning linked to meat sliced at grocery store deli counters, federal health officials said Friday. At least 28 people in a dozen states have gotten sick, though the largest number, seven,...
Biden has covid-19 and didn’t wear a mask, but CDC’s guidelines say he doesn’t have to
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — President Joe Biden did not wear a face mask in public a couple of times after the White House announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said the Democratic incumbent was experiencing “mild” symptoms while the president’s physician said Biden would self-isolate “in...
Pharmacists nervous but optimistic as Gov. Shapiro signs pharmacy benefit manager regulation into law
Even as Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill regulating pharmacy benefit managers into Pennsylvania law Wednesday, some local pharmacists remained apprehensive about the future. The bill sets restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, third-party intermediaries that work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers. Pharmacy benefit managers reimburse pharmacies for the...
Amazon Prime Day is a major cause of injuries for warehouse workers, Senate review says
NEW YORK — Amazon’s popular Prime Day sales event has been “a major cause of injuries” for warehouse workers who pick and pack customer orders at the e-commerce giant’s facilities across the United States, according to a report released Tuesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The report, which draws information from...
As covid cases surge, here’s what local doctors advise
If you’re feeling the early signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection — fever, cough, a sore throat, congestion, or even abdominal pain or diarrhea — it might be a good time to take a covid test, local doctors say. Though the numbers have waned drastically from the early days...
Extreme heat and some medicines can be a risky combo. Here’s what to know
Extreme heat can raise the danger of heat-related illnesses and threaten health in a more subtle way — by amplifying the side effects of many common medications. Hot weather, too, can damage medicines such as insulin that require refrigeration. Inhalers can explode. Epinephrine injectors such as EpiPens can malfunction. Meds...
Pharmacy benefit manager bill headed to Pa. governor’s desk
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers is headed to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The bill, which began in the state House, passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. Those revisions were approved 172-30 in the House on Thursday. The bill sets restrictions on...
Restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers pass in Pa. Senate with some changes
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers — third-party intermediaries who work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers — passed overwhelmingly in the Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. The new version of the bill now returns to the House to approve the revisions before heading to...
A rare voice box transplant helped a cancer patient speak again, part of a pioneering studyVideo
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts man has regained his voice after surgeons removed his cancerous larynx and, in a pioneering move, replaced it with a donated one. Transplants of the so-called voice box are extremely rare, and normally aren’t an option for people with active cancer. Marty Kedian is only the...
Proposed IUP medical school picks up $2M donation
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has picked up another $2 million toward its proposed college of osteopathic medicine, campus officials announced Tuesday. It comes from Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka, IUP graduates and longtime campus supporters. In remarks prepared for the gift’s announcement, Tim Cejka told his alma mater that the...
Drugs like Ozempic linked to lower cancer risk in study
Blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs might lower patients’ risk of developing some common types of cancer that are closely linked to obesity, new evidence suggests. Patients with Type 2 diabetes who were prescribed drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, developed fewer obesity-related cancers than patients who were treated...
Colorado dairy worker tests positive for bird flu, 4th person linked to outbreak
A fourth farm worker has been infected with bird flu in the growing outbreak linked to dairy cows, health officials reported Wednesday. The worker had direct contact with infected dairy cows on a northeast Colorado farm, state and federal health officials said. The man developed pink eye, or conjunctivitis, received...
Pa.’s health secretary wins Senate confirmation to the post on 2nd try
After 18 months as serving as the acting head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, Dr. Debra Bogen is now the state’s health secretary. Bogen, a pediatrician and former head of the Allegheny County Health Department, won Senate confirmation on Tuesday by a 42-8 bipartisan vote. “I look forward to continuing...
FDA approves a 2nd Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow disease
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment. The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Kisunla on Tuesday for mild or early cases of dementia caused by...
