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Trump team's $500 million bet on old vaccine technology puzzles scientists
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology and was just one of more than 200 such efforts.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money ...Read more

Bill of the Month: The patient expected a free checkup. The bill was $1,430
Carmen Aiken of Chicago made an appointment for an annual physical exam in July 2023, planning to get checked out and complete some blood work.
The appointment was at a family medicine practice run by University of Illinois Health. Aiken said the doctor recommended they undergo a Pap smear, which they hadn’t had in more than a year, and ...Read more

Ask the Pediatrician: Using nature, art as outdoor inspiration to boost your child's development
Spending time outside, especially in green spaces like parks, is important for children's development and well-being. Connecting with nature can even help manage some physical and mental conditions.
Art also supports a child's development in meaningful ways. Art projects and other forms of play let them explore, interact with and make sense of ...Read more

Trump restores Title X funding for two anti-abortion states -- while wiping it out elsewhere
The Trump administration quietly restored federal family planning money to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that the states weren’t entitled to funds because they refused to provide women information about terminating pregnancies or abortion referrals on request.
The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to ...Read more

Survey: 43% of Americans say money is negatively impacting their mental health
Paige DeVriendt, a 32-year-old living in Columbus, Ohio, has spent most of her life associating money with shame and anxiety.
Today, DeVriendt and her husband both work, bringing in a combined annual salary of around $225,000. With that, they’ve been able to pay their bills, save and invest, all while chipping away at six figures of combined...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Are energy drinks bad for your health?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband and son are constantly coming home with an energy drink in hand. I tell them that they are bad for you, but I don't know enough to make a strong case. What are the effects of energy drinks on the body?
ANSWER: Energy drinks are a multibillion-dollar industry and are the most consumed supplement not under the control...Read more
Avoiding age-related brain diseases
If you're not controlling your blood pressure, weight, blood sugar and/or cholesterol levels, and don't get enough sleep, exercise, or have time with your posse and a sense of purpose, you've come up with a formula for some serious age-related brain diseases. Other habits that contribute to brain-dimming diseases include excess alcohol and ...Read more
Using Supplements To Lower Heart Risk Isn't Backed By Evidence
DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently had a CT scan, and my score was 184. My cardiologist put me on 40 mg of Lipitor, which I reluctantly took for three weeks until I developed severe pain in my feet and hands. I stopped taking it, and the pain went away. I'm a 64-year-old male in excellent shape. I'm currently taking a chelation supplement, vitamin K2 ...Read more

Antibody therapy explored by Pitt, other researchers to combat bird flu
While the risk of contracting and dying from the H5N1 avian flu remains low for humans, researchers continue to hunt for vaccines and treatments in case the virus mutates to spread more easily between animals and humans — or among humans themselves.
A team that includes researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institutes...Read more

N.Y. Sen. Schumer slams Trump, RFK Jr. for 'just lying' about layoffs threatening 9/11 health program
The Trump administration’s funding shell game over the health program that treats 9/11 first responders with Ground Zero-related illnesses continued this weekend with a fresh round of layoffs — and New York’s Senate delegation is calling on their Republican colleagues to step up and save the program.
Friday’s mass layoffs at the ...Read more

NY Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand call for GOP lawmakers to step up after Trump layoffs threaten 9/11 health program
The Trump Administration’s funding shell game over the health program that treats 9/11 first responders with Ground Zero-related illnesses continued this weekend with a fresh round of layoffs — and New York’s Senate delegation is calling on their Republican colleagues to step up and save the program.
Friday’s mass layoffs at the ...Read more

Government watchdog expects Medicaid work requirement analysis by fall
The country’s top nonpartisan government watchdog has confirmed it is examining the costs of running the nation’s only active Medicaid work requirement program, as Republican state and federal lawmakers consider similar requirements.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office told KFF Health News that its analysis of the Georgia Pathways to ...Read more

In reversal, FDA rehires staff tasked with releasing public records
The FDA has rehired at least some workers tasked with releasing public records generated by the agency’s regulatory activities, two employees said. The recall reverses firings carried out roughly a month ago by the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency.
Workers who process records about medical device and tobacco ...Read more

RFK Jr. said his agency will find the cause of autism. These researchers have actually been looking
The annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research took place in Seattle this week.
The field's premiere scientific conference was scheduled to be held in the Emerald City five years ago, until COVID-19 dashed those plans. This time, U.S. autism researchers face a very different kind of crisis: massive cuts to federal funding, ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Minute: Dual procedure combines liver transplant, bariatric surgery
Mayo Clinic surgeons have found that an innovative approach can help patients with obesity get lifesaving care. Obesity can be a barrier to liver transplant. Dr. Julie Heimbach, director of the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Rochester, Minnesota, says that combining gastric sleeve surgery, a type of bariatric surgery with liver transplantation...Read more

On Nutrition: What is the Mediterranean diet, really?
My husband and I traveled to Italy in 2019. Everything was wonderful, even the “house” wine in restaurants. We were surprised, however, that much of food we were served did not exactly match what we expected in this Mediterranean country.
In particular was the abundance of meat products, especially cold cuts, in the meals provided by our ...Read more
Doctors Give Conflicting Advice On Measles Immunity
DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband and I recently welcomed our new granddaughter. She is 2 months old and therefore several months away from receiving her first MMR vaccine. We live in Texas, and while there are currently no known measles cases in our area, we are aware that it could happen due to the highly contagious nature of the virus.
I am 65, ...Read more
Tough to swallow
We've all run into situations or statements that we find hard to swallow -- but for up to 700,000 folks every year, its food and drink that cause the problem. The condition, called dysphagia, can trigger coughing while eating and force liquid and food to come back into the throat or out of your nose or mouth.
We each swallow (when we can) 600 ...Read more

Kansas reports 9 new measles cases ahead of summer. Vaccines urged
Kansas saw another bump in measles cases over the past week during an outbreak that has, so far this year, not yet spread to the Kansas City metro.
The state saw nine new cases, bringing the total number from 37 to 46, according to a Kansas Department of Health and Environment dashboard tracking cases.
The dashboard was updated Wednesday, ...Read more

World Trade Center health program resumes treatments after outcry
The health program that treats Sept. 11 first responders has started resuming enrollment of new participants and approving treatments for ailing patients after on-again, off-again Trump administration cuts had hobbled the program for weeks, the Daily News has learned.
A Department of Health and Human Services official informed doctors and ...Read more
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Popular Stories
- Bill of the Month: The patient expected a free checkup. The bill was $1,430
- Survey: 43% of Americans say money is negatively impacting their mental health
- Ask the Pediatrician: Using nature, art as outdoor inspiration to boost your child's development
- Mayo Clinic Q and A: Are energy drinks bad for your health?
- Prostate cancer: Short-course radiation as effective as longer-term treatments