Health

This week, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine released preclinical data that shows a long-acting antibody combination called Evusheld can neutralize activity against omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus, including BA.2. To conduct the study, researchers used in vivo data generated... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is scaling back COVID-19 response efforts, despite a recent uptick of infections involving an omicron subvariant known as BA.2 which now accounts for about 35% of all positive COVID infections in the country.  “BA.2 is omicron... Read More

WASHINGTON — In honor of World Water Day and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Clean Water Act, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, joined representatives from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network at The Wharf’s District Pier, where... Read More

ARLINGTON, Va. — School food directors and nutrition advocates are warning that without an extension to pandemic child nutrition waivers, schools across the country will be forced to cancel or scale back meal services for local families. The waivers, which... Read More

WASHINGTON — A House panel scheduled to kick the tires on roughly 20 different health care-related bills on Thursday spent time considering the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to grant accelerated approval to the first disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health panel Thursday spent the majority of their time considering the future of the Food and Drug Administration's so-called Accelerated Approval Program. A number of the 20 different health care-related bills... Read More

WASHINGTON — As the Senate Finance Committee waded into the hot-button topic of prescription drug prices on Wednesday two things were clear from the outset: everyone agrees something needs to be done to make drugs like insulin more affordable and... Read More

WASHINGTON — The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 15 includes funds to modernize the VA infrastructure and allow registered nurses and physician assistants in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to... Read More

Pfizer-BioNTech announced that they will seek emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a second booster shot for adults 65 and older.  The decision to submit an application to the FDA comes after real-world data sets from Israeli... Read More

An audit released Tuesday from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli confirms that nursing home deaths in the state of New York were hidden from the public during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the audit, the Department of Health... Read More

A report released this week from the Emergency Care Research Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies how to improve patient care, identifies 10 of the top patient safety concerns of 2022. There was one topic this year that was identified by patients... Read More

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare payments to health care providers and health plans, issued a report on Tuesday that recommends that Medicare should not make any changes to physician fee schedule payments for 2023.  According... Read More

Crystal Hudson, the New York City council member and chair of the Committee on Aging, and Mark Levine, the president of Manhattan Borough, held a press conference on Monday to introduce a resolution to pass the Fair Pay for Home Care... Read More

Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, in collaboration with the Spiritual Life Center, kicked off a program this week focused on enhancing spiritual growth of LGBTQIA+ leaders and communities.  The online program is a space where folks serving as... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey released a statement this week that on Sunday a total of 852 people were released from New Jersey prisons and jails under the Public Health Emergency Credit Law. The New Jersey Department of Corrections... Read More

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a nonprofit authorized by Congress in 2010 to fund research for health care, announced that $71.5 million will be given to fund 12 research studies focusing on the use of telehealth for mental health conditions and disorders.... Read More

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases began a phase one clinical trial this week to examine the use of mRNA technology for HIV.  To conduct the trial, NIAID researchers will evaluate three experimental HIV vaccines based on a... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the omnibus spending bill into law for fiscal year 2022 and included in the package is $6.6 billion for funding health care initiatives through the Indian Health Service, an agency within the... Read More

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 2, 2018, Maura Binkley, a 21-year-old Florida State college student, was attending a hot yoga studio session in Tallahassee, Florida, when a 40-year-old man entered the studio with a gun and opened fire. The attacker killed... Read More

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee approved a bill Tuesday to put significant new resources into U.S. preparedness for any other pandemics that threaten the nation’s health and economy. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., described the PREVENT Pandemics Act as an effort... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House issued a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday outlining what might happen now that the $22.5 billion in COVID-19 relief aid was dropped from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022. “We continue to... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County District Court issued an injunction on Friday temporarily preventing the enforcement of a directive compelling the state child welfare agency to investigate gender-transitioning medical treatment cases as child abuse. Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agriculture Department is confirming two cases of avian flu in Kansas and Illinois among flocks of poultry. So far, no humans have been infected. The flocks are under quarantine and will be depopulated, the Agriculture Department... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., in February introduced a bill which would revise outdated regulations on methadone treatment and allow any pharmacy to dispense methadone for treating opioid use disorders. The bill has since been referred... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Their advocacy helped send Purdue Pharma into bankruptcy and is forcing the family that has controlled the company for generations to relinquish ownership and provide billions of dollars for communities to combat opioid addiction. But what... Read More

A hearing was held Tuesday by the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce to discuss the role of daylight saving time, also known as “springing forward.” Starting Monday, March 14, individuals in the U.S. will move their clocks forward one hour. “The... Read More

A letter recently sent by 15 senators urges Senate leadership to expand the research and development tax credit for small businesses before the March 11 government funding deadline. The House passed the sweeping $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package on Wednesday night, and... Read More

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., recently sent a letter to the Biden administration urging that a publicly administered health insurance option be added to the Affordable Care Act’s individual marketplaces in the president’s... Read More

The Senate recently approved a resolution to repeal the COVID-19 health care worker vaccine mandate that a Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 13 allowed to proceed. The White House issued a statement that the decision by the Senate would put unvaccinated health care workers... Read More

The CDC updated COVID-19 guidance on Feb. 28 to no longer require universal case investigation and contact tracing, except in high-risk settings like long-term care facilities and jails. Now, many states have announced their contact tracing programs will soon end.  Changes to... Read More