Health

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will urge Americans to get vaccinated and to receive a booster shot as he seeks to quell concerns Monday over the new COVID-19 variant omicron, but won't immediately push for more restrictions to stop its... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Both sides are telling the Supreme Court there's no middle ground in Wednesday's showdown over abortion. The justices can either reaffirm the constitutional right to an abortion or wipe it away altogether. Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that declared... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, blasted Sen. Ted Cruz for suggesting that Fauci be investigated for statements he made about COVID-19 and said the criticism by the Texas Republican was an attack on science. “I... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Biden Administration on Friday imposed air travel restrictions on eight African nations in response to a new COVID strain first detected in South Africa. The new travel restrictions, which go into effect Monday, apply to citizens of... Read More

BRUSSELS (AP) — A slew of nations moved to stop air travel from southern Africa on Friday, and stocks plunged in Asia and Europe in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible COVID-19 variant. "The last thing we... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate are urging their colleagues to help them guarantee a woman’s timely access to birth control at her local pharmacy. The legislation, the Access to Birth Control Act, was reintroduced... Read More

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden will briefly transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday when he undergoes a “routine colonoscopy" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the White House said. Biden drove early Friday to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday suspended enforcement of a vaccine mandate on private companies with 100 or more employees. The decision, which was carried out through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, comes less than a week after... Read More

WASHINGTON —Many public health departments across the country are experiencing increasing calls from individuals who have lost their vaccination cards and are seeking a replacement. "Our department receives, on average, 60 requests for replacement vaccination cards each week. This number... Read More

LEON COUNTY, Fla. — In the panhandle of Florida, Leon County, a small county of around 270,000 residents, has been working to offer free menstrual products in school buildings, courthouses, community centers, parks and libraries. "Leon County continues to address... Read More

WASHINGTON — Members of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s Health Policy and Advocacy Committee are now calling for lawmakers to revise current Medicaid policy dictating patients who desire postpartum sterilization wait 30 days. The pregnancy experts published their contentions to... Read More

BERLIN (AP) — Austria took what its leader called the “dramatic" step Monday of implementing a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people who haven't recently had COVID-19, perhaps the most drastic of a string of measures being taken by European governments... Read More

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Santa won't be getting his traditional welcome in the Dutch city of Utrecht this year. The ceremonial head of Carnival celebrations in Germany's Cologne had to bow out because he tested positive for COVID-19. And... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge overturned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning mask mandates in public schools on Wednesday, freeing local officials to set their own masking orders once again. U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel ruled Texas... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, whose son Beau was an Iraq war veteran, is using his first Veterans Day in office to announce an effort to better understand, treat and identify medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Mission Act was launched in 2019 to protect veterans' access to health care, but now health policy experts are finding that the legislation may actually be preventing access. “Veterans who need to go to [into] the community... Read More

WASHINGTON — Pfizer and BioNTech SE asked the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older. Currently, COVID-19 booster shots are only available to older Americans and those with underlying health... Read More