Health

The NFL’s decision to reduce COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic, vaccinated players could signal a trend for pro sports leagues and provide an example for society to follow heading into 2022. Despite a rising number of positive cases that forced three... Read More

Moderna said Monday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine should offer protection against the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently removed a major obstacle for women seeking abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that they pick up the medication in person. Millions of American women will now be able... Read More

ATLANTA — People getting vaccinated against COVID-19 should be offered Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots rather than those containing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to an increased risk of blood clots in young and middle-aged women, a Centers for Disease... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration issued an emergency rule in November mandating all businesses with 100 or more employees require staff to get fully vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. Set to take effect on Jan. 4 and be enforced by... Read More

The House Oversight Committee recently released a drug pricing investigation report on the need for structural reforms.  “We will continue our investigation on drugs, the cost of drugs and ways to make [them] more affordable for people. Right now, all... Read More

WASHINGTON —Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., are leading a bipartisan effort to increase transparency surrounding the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization program. This past summer, the VA’s Office of Inspector General released a series... Read More

CHICAGO — On Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a field hearing in Chicago on reducing violence in the city where homicide rates have increased more than 4% in the last year. “At least 12 major cities have set homicide... Read More

WASHINGTON — With the pandemic just one crisis affecting girls’ education globally, the Brookings Institution gathered a group of young scholars from around the world for a symposium to consider new ways to protect and promote the rights of women,... Read More

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection from hospitalization, according to an analysis... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In response to the Supreme Court’s decision allowing Texas’ abortion law to continue, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to craft gun control measures that enable private citizens to seek injunctive relief and statutory damages against gun... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected two emergency requests from health care workers who claimed New York State’s vaccine mandate unfairly refuses to exempt those with religious concerns. In the underlying complaint, three nurses and a group called... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden recently implemented new actions to protect Americans against COVID-19 variants this winter, including a new policy beginning Jan. 15 to expand at-home testing. “More than 150 million Americans with private insurance, who are now able... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the use of telehealth and now many digital health companies are seeking to revolutionize access to care for communities of color.  “I saw all these different solutions popping up and wondered how I could fine... Read More

Pfizer said Wednesday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the new omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that while two doses may not... Read More

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that, in an effort to combat the omicron variant, children aged 5-11 will soon be required to present proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter any... Read More

WASHINGTON — It wasn’t even the top headline in The New York Times the day after the decision was announced. That distinction went to the death of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who had died at age 64 after suffering... Read More

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Dr. Sikhulile Moyo was analyzing COVID-19 samples in his lab in Botswana last week when he noticed they looked startlingly different from others. Within days, the world was ablaze with the news that the coronavirus had a new variant... Read More

RESERVE, La. (AP) — Michael Coleman's house is the last one standing on his tiny street, squeezed between a sprawling oil refinery whose sounds and smells keep him up at night and a massive grain elevator that covers his pickup... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to roll out a comprehensive plan Monday to step up the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic over the winter months. The moves, which will be announced during a visit to the National... Read More

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine completed a recent study on how blood biomarkers can help diagnose and treat mood disorders. “The tests are now being made available to interested doctors through a company I co-founded, called MindX... Read More

A team of researchers at Stanford Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics recently launched the Office of Child Health Equity to act as a unified force across pediatric departments and push for changes in California laws and regulations related to child health.... Read More

The World Health Organization held a special health assembly this week to consider a single substantive agenda on pandemic preparedness and response.  “Comprehensive. Coordinated. Effective. These are three words that history will not use to describe the global response to the COVID-19... Read More

This week a new campaign called Teammates for Mental Health was launched by the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 to promote better mental health of athletes. Over the past four months, 10 working groups consisting of athletic coaches... Read More

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital will soon begin a first-ever clinical trial of a new nasal spray vaccine that may hold the promise of treating Alzheimer’s disease.  “If clinical trials in humans show that the vaccine is safe and... Read More

Yesterday was Worlds AIDS Day 2021, a day on which political leaders around the globe renewed their commitments to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic nearly 40 years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially reported the first cases of... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said he will unveil plans this week on how his administration will work to slow the spread of the new COVID-19 variant, known as omicron, which emerged in South Africa and has been classified by... Read More

TOKYO (AP) — The omicron variant kept a jittery world off kilter Wednesday as Japan further tightened travel restrictions, infections linked to the new version of the coronavirus popped up in more places and new evidence made clear the mutant... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Global shares mostly slipped Tuesday as investors cautiously weighed how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy. Germany's DAX lost 1.1% to 15,106.35 in afternoon trading. France’s CAC 40 slipped... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Monday, calling the new omicron variant of the coronavirus a cause for concern “but not a cause for panic.” Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as Dr. Anthony Fauci,... Read More