Choose your location
COVID Health
CDC Recommends RSV Vaccine For Older Adults
On June 29, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations for use of new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines from GSK and Pfizer for people ages 60 years and older, using shared clinical decision-making. This means these individuals may receive a single dose of the vaccine based on discussions with their healthcare provider about whether RSV vaccination is right for them.
Need to Get Plan B or an HIV Test Online? Facebook May Know About It
Looking for an at-home HIV test on CVS’ website is not as private an experience as one might think. An investigation by The Markup and KFF Health News found trackers on CVS.com telling some of the biggest social media and advertising platforms the products customers viewed. And CVS is...
Biden to Appoint Mandy Cohen as Director of CDC
[On June 16] President Biden announced his intent to appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Cohen is one of the nation’s top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans’ health and safety.
Designing a SARS-CoV-2 Decoy
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, monoclonal antibodies played an important role in treating some people with severe disease. A combination of antibodies was also approved as a prevention strategy for people with certain immune system problems. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to mutate, the spike protein it uses to enter...
U.S. Cancer Statistics: Highlights From 2020 Mortality and Incidence
U.S. Cancer Statistics: Highlights from 2020 Mortality and Incidence with Comparison to 2019 Incidence to Assess the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health services, leading to delays and reductions in cancer screening, diagnosis, and reporting to some central cancer registries. This may have contributed to an observed decline in 2020 incidence for most cancer sites.
A Secret to Health and Long Life? Immune Resilience
Do you know some people who almost never get sick and bounce back quickly when they do, while other people frequently suffer from one illness or another? NIAID-supported researchers have pinpointed an attribute of the immune system called immune resilience that helps explain why some people live longer and healthier lives than others.
Recovery From Addiction Is a Journey. There’s No One-and-Done Solution.
The atmosphere inside the Allen House is easygoing as residents circulate freely through the hallways, meet in group sessions, or gather on a large outdoor patio that features a dirt volleyball court with an oversize net. The 60-bed safety-net residential treatment center in Santa Fe Springs, run by Los Angeles...
Biden Admin Implores States to Slow Medicaid Cuts
Too many Americans are losing Medicaid coverage because of red tape, and states should do more to make sure eligible people keep their health insurance, the Biden administration said Monday. More than a million Americans have lost coverage through the program for low-income and disabled Americans in the past several...
Health Insurance Plans Will Cover Preventive Care as Court Case Continues
Today, June 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit approved an agreement by the parties on a stay of the remedy in the case of Braidwood v. Becerra, pausing the effect of the lower court’s ruling that threatens access to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended preventive services without cost sharing as required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The agreement provides that the government will not take any action to enforce the ACA provision against the plaintiffs while the litigation proceeds.
National Public Health Groups Applaud the Supreme Court’s Medicaid Ruling
On Thursday, June 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a decision in the case of Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski siding with the plaintiff and ruling that individuals could enforce their civil rights to spending clause programs such as Medicaid via Section 1983.
Denials of Health Insurance Claims Are Rising — And Getting Weirder
Millions of Americans in the past few years have run into this experience: filing a health care insurance claim that once might have been paid immediately but instead is just as quickly denied. If the experience and the insurer’s explanation often seem arbitrary and absurd, that might be because companies appear increasingly likely to employ computer algorithms or people with little relevant experience to issue rapid-fire denials of claims — sometimes bundles at a time — without reviewing the patient’s medical chart. A job title at one company was “.”
Abortion Bans Are Driving Off Doctors and Closing Clinics, Putting Basic Health Care at Risk
The rush in conservative states to ban abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women living in those states. Doctors are showing — through their words and actions — that...
Personalized mRNA Vaccine Reduces Risk of Melanoma Spread
A customized messenger RNA (mRNA) cancer vaccine being developed by Moderna and Merck plus the checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) reduced the risk of metastasis in people with high-risk advanced melanoma, according to updated study results presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Researchers reported that...
Toward a Definition of Long COVID
For many people, a bout with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, doesn’t end when the initial symptoms subside. An array of problems may linger for months or years after infection. They can affect nearly every tissue and organ in the body. Their effects can range from mild to disabling.
This Panel Will Decide Whose Medicine to Make Affordable. Its Choice Will Be Tricky.
Catherine Reitzel’s multiple sclerosis medication costs nearly $100,000 a year. Kris Garcia relies on a drug for a blood-clotting disorder that runs $10,000 for a three-day supply. And Mariana Marquez-Farmer would likely die within days without her monthly $300 vial of insulin. At best, a Colorado panel of medical...
The Debt Ceiling Deal Takes a Bite Out of Health Programs. It Could Have Been Much Worse.
Policy analysts, Democrats, and Republicans dissatisfied with the deal agree: Federal health programs have dodged a budgetary bullet in the Washington showdown over raising the nation’s debt ceiling. A compromise bill, approved late Thursday by the Senate, includes some trims and caps on health spending for the next two...
Remote Work: An Underestimated Benefit for Family Caregivers
For Aida Beltré, working remotely during the pandemic came as a relief. She was taking care of her father, now 86, who has been in and out of hospitals and rehabs after a worsening series of strokes in recent years. Working from home for a rental property company, she...
As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage
More than 600,000 Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended on April 1. And a KFF Health News analysis of state data shows the vast majority were removed from state rolls for not completing paperwork. Under normal circumstances, states review their Medicaid enrollment lists regularly to ensure every...
FDA Approves First Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine
Editor’s note: The FDA approved a second RSV vaccine, Pfizer’s Abrysvo, on May 31, 2023. Today [May 3, 2023], the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Arexvy, the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine approved for use in the United States. Arexvy is approved for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in individuals 60 years of age and older.
COVID Health
932+
Posts
1M+
Views
COVID Health is here to help people navigate the unknowns of a COVID-19 diagnosis and what lies beyond. The site is also designed to help people learn how to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus, which is called SARS-CoV-2.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.