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Only 1 in 5 U.S. Adults With Opioid Use Disorder Received Medications to Treat it in 2021
In 2021, an estimated 2.5 million people aged 18 years or older in the U.S. had opioid use disorder in the past year, yet only 1 in 5 of them (22%) received medications to treat it, according to a new study. Some groups were substantially less likely to receive medication for opioid use disorder, including Black adults, women, those who were unemployed, and those in nonmetropolitan areas.
Project NextGen Awards Over $1.4 Billion to Develop the Future of COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), awarded more than $1.4 billion for Project NextGen to support the development of a new generation of tools and technologies to protect against COVID-19 for years to come. The awards announced...
Final Study Analysis Shows Benefit of Trodelvy for Breast Cancer
Final overall study analysis continues to show benefit of sacituzumab govitecan in advanced HR+ breast cancer. A novel antibody-drug conjugate continues to demonstrate superior benefit for patients with HR+/HER2- [hormone receptor-positive, HER-2-negative] metastatic breast cancer when compared to standard chemotherapy, according to a new study in The Lancet. In the...
FDA Approves First Vaccine for Pregnant Individuals to Prevent RSV in Infants
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Abrysvo (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine), the first vaccine approved for use in pregnant individuals to prevent lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) and severe LRTD caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants from birth through 6 months of age. Abrysvo is approved...
Watch 5 Videos Highlighting 5 Amazing HIV Groups in the South
Spearheaded by pharma giant Gilead Sciences, the COMPASS Initiative is a 10-year collaborative effort funded at over $100 million to help HIV organizations in the South tackle the epidemic. COMPASS is celebrating the halfway mark with the video series 5 Years, 5 Voices that highlights the HIV-related work of five grantees. In addition, a special publication of a Black health journal explores the initiative’s impact.
A Peek at Big Pharma’s Playbook That Leaves Many Americans Unable to Afford Their Drugs
America’s pharmaceutical giants are suing this summer to block the federal government’s first effort at drug price regulation. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very expensive medicines beginning in 2026 (an additional 15 in 2027 and 2028, with more added in later years). Another provision would require manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for drug prices that increased faster than inflation.
A New Medicare Proposal Would Cover Training for Family Caregivers
Even with extensive caregiving experience, Patti LaFleur was unprepared for the crisis that hit in April 2021, when her mother, Linda LaTurner, fell out of a chair and broke her hip. LaTurner, 71, had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia seven years before. For two years, she’d been living with LaFleur,...
Social Factors Influence Heart Disease in Black Americans
To understand why Black Americans have a greater risk of death from heart disease compared with whites, Tulane University researchers examined the link between social factors, such as poor access to care and food insecurity; clinical risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes; and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, lack of exercise, unhealthy diet and too little or too much sleep.
New Alzheimer’s Drug Raises Hopes — Along With Questions
The FDA has approved Leqembi, the first disease-modifying treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s and a precursor condition, mild cognitive impairment. Medicare has said it will pay for the therapy. Medical centers across the country are scrambling to finalize policies and procedures for providing the medication to patients, possibly by summer’s end or early autumn.
Promising Better, Cheaper Care, Kaiser Permanente’s National Expansion Faces Wide Skepticism
As regulators review Kaiser Permanente’s proposed acquisition of a respected health system based in Pennsylvania, health care experts are still puzzling over how the surprise deal, announced in April, could fulfill the managed care giant’s promise of improving care and reducing costs for patients, including in its home state of California.
Striving for a Healthier Future: Combating HIV and Hepatitis C Coinfection
Hepatitis C is a significant public health concern affecting an estimated 71 million people worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that approximately 2.4 million individuals are living with chronic hepatitis C. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 21% of people with HIV in the...
Severe COVID-19 May Lead to Long-Term Innate Immune System Changes
Severe COVID-19 may cause long-lasting alterations to the innate immune system, the first line of defense against pathogens, according to a small study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. These changes may help explain why the disease can damage...
Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2023
Sunday, August 20, marks Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (#SHAAD) 2023. Founded by the Southern AIDS Coalition in 2019, SHAAD “is a powerful reminder of the need for an unwavering commitment to southern communities,” write the organizers on SouthernSolution.org, urging everyone to raise awareness and advocate for “new and necessary resources and solutions to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS in the South.”
Healthy Recipe: Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes bring us natural sweetness when their larger cousins — fat beefsteak and elongated Roma tomatoes — are out of season and have no oomph. Roasting these little gems is easy and brings out their natural sweetness even more. Roasted cherry tomatoes are fabulous with fish and divine with grilled chicken. They’re even good roasted with a few olives mixed in and thrown over pasta. Experiment on your own, or try with Cook For Your Life’s Roasted Tomato & Olive Pearl Couscous or Quinoa With Roasted Winter Vegetables.
Proposed Rule Would Make Hospital Prices Even More Transparent
“How much is the ice cream?” A simple enough question, featured on a new TV and online advertisement, posed by a man who just wants something cold. A woman behind the counter responds with a smile: “Prices? No, we don’t have those anymore. We have estimates.”. The...
Bridging the Pain Communication Gap
Communicating pain presents a challenge for patients and providers. Patients have their own individual experience of pain, while providers receive widely variable inputs or explanations. This information gap creates issues with diagnosis, treatment and helping patients navigate treatment’s collateral damage. The first step in bridging that information gap often involves...
AIDSVu Updates PrEP Use Data, Highlighting Disparities in HIV Prevention
In 2021, for every new HIV diagnosis among Black people in the South, there were four Black people taking PrEP to prevent HIV. In contrast, for every new HIV diagnosis among white people in the South, there were 27 white PrEP users. This is just one data point highlighted on...
Seeking Medicare Coverage for Weight Loss Drugs, Pharma Giant Courts Black Influencers
Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has turned to influential Black Americans in pursuit of what would be a lucrative victory: having Medicare cover a new class of weight loss drugs, including the company’s highly sought Wegovy, which can cost patients more than $1,000 a month. During a conference of the...
New Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report Shows Rise in Hepatitis C
New CDC viral hepatitis reports on US surveillance in 2021 and on progress toward reaching national elimination goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published the Viral Hepatitis Surveillance Report— United States, 2021 and the 2023 Viral Hepatitis National Progress Report. These reports contain hepatitis A,...
Lack of Medicaid Support Fuels the HIV Epidemic in Georgia
Although Georgia sees some of the worst HIV rates in the nation, many Georgians living with HIV are unable to access health care through Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income and disabled people. That’s because, unlike in other states, Georgia’s Medicaid doesn’t cover people with HIV. Not only does this lack of coverage translate to worse health outcomes for people with HIV in Georgia, but it is also fueling HIV rates, reports Vice News.
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Real Health is the leading health magazine for African Americans in the United States. Launched in 2004, the goal of Real Health is to help African Americans of all ages achieve optimum health and wellness—physically, mentally and emotionally—by offering readers current, accurate information based on the latest science through well-researched stories that educate, entertain, uplift and motivate members of the community at large to be their best selves.
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