Covid shots not yet available at CVS without prescription despite Pa. policy change
Pennsylvania officials this week authorized eligible people to get a covid-19 vaccine without a prescription. The state said the change took effect immediately. But, as of Friday afternoon, patients hoping to get the vaccines at CVS locations were still being told they needed a doctor’s order. CVS has about 500...
UPMC workers to join community groups in march for transgender health care
In response to restrictions enacted under the Trump administration, some UPMC providers will be joining community groups in a show of support for restoring gender-affirming care to transgender youth next week. On Monday, a group of UPMC workers and members of Trans YOUniting and ACT UP plan to march across...
Health care at its worst: Clinic employees fired for mocking patients on TikTok
The latest viral video of health care workers behaving badly made the rounds on Labor Day weekend. It originated in Santa Barbara, Calf., and was shared on TikTok by a former employee of the Sansum Clinic there. It was a since-deleted video that depicted former co-workers at the clinic, which...
Takeaways from RFK Jr.’s contentious hearing before Senate lawmakers
WASHINGTON — A contentious three-hour hearing between U.S. senators and Robert Kennedy Jr. devolved into multiple screaming matches on Thursday as the nation’s health secretary fended off accusations about sweeping changes he’s made to vaccines, health care policy and leadership. The oversight hearing in the Senate Finance Committee was a...
Towne Drugs Pharmacy a community fixture in Aspinwall since 1956
As some U.S. pharmacies struggle to stay afloat amid ongoing turmoil in the prescription reimbursement industry, one independent family-owned pharmacy in Aspinwall is dedicated to remaining open. Towne Drugs Pharmacy in Aspinwall is co-owned by father/son pharmacist duo Bob Akanowicz and Jon Akanowicz, both of Hampton. Both men know just...
Operation Warp Speed was one of Trump’s biggest achievements. Then came RFK Jr. and vaccine skeptics
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump launched Operation Warp Speed in the throes of the covid-19 pandemic, an effort he has credited with saving tens of millions of lives. During a Cabinet meeting last week, he likened it to “one of the greatest achievements ever.” Sitting at the table as a...
Another human West Nile virus case reported in Allegheny County
Allegheny County Health Department confirmed the second human West Nile case of this year. A person was hospitalized after developing symptoms in the beginning of August. Just a few weeks earlier, on Aug. 18, the county announced a Plum resident had been suffering from fever, malaise and digestive troubles which...
Where does Pennsylvania stand with school vaccine regulations?
After Florida’s surgeon general moved to end all state vaccine mandates, including school requirements, some Pennsylvanians may wonder if the same could happen here. As of now, every state has school vaccine mandates. If Florida follows through with the proposed plan, it would be the first state to completely withdraw...
Congo’s health ministry announces a new Ebola outbreak
DAKAR, Senegal — Congo’s health ministry on Thursday announced a new Ebola outbreak, the 16th in the central African country, after a case was confirmed in the southern Kasai province. “To date, the provisional report shows 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including 14 in Boulapé and 1 in Mweka,...
$6.2M expansion at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison creates AHN rehab hub
A $6.2 million expansion at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison will boost inpatient rehabilitation space by 70% and establish it as a rehab hub for parent company Allegheny Health Network. Space for patients recovering from injuries, surgery and serious illness will increase from 17 to 29 beds. Hospital President Dr....
Kennedy tries to defend covid-19 vaccine stance in raucous Senate hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., facing pointed bipartisan questioning at a rancorous three-hour Senate committee hearing on Thursday, tried to defend his efforts to pull back covid-19 vaccine recommendations and explain the turmoil he has created at federal health agencies. Kennedy said the fired CDC director...
RFK Jr. critic and vaccine expert Paul Offit responds to his abrupt removal from the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee
Paul Offit, a prominent vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, wasn’t told why he was removed from the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee last week. He speculates it’s because of his longstanding criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was a...
No prescription? No problem: Pa. clears a barrier to covid vaccines
Pennsylvanians seeking a covid-19 shot from their pharmacist no longer need a prescription after the state Board of Pharmacy changed its policies Wednesday. The change takes effect immediately, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Those interested in getting the vaccine should contact their pharmacies about availability “while pharmacies work...
Florida plans to become 1st state to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandatesVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates that have been a cornerstone of public health policy for decades in keeping schoolchildren and adults safe from infectious diseases. State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who announced the decision Wednesday, cast current requirements in...
Yes, weighted vests can help amp up your workout. Here’s what to know
In the fitness class Jessie Syfko created for a nationwide gym chain, exercisers wear weighted vests that add a challenge to their workouts. “People start to realize how good it feels to work just a little bit harder and a little bit smarter” without actually changing what they’re doing, said...
CVS requires prescription for covid shots in Pa. amid federal vaccine turmoil
CVS is requiring prescriptions for covid-19 shots in Pennsylvania because of delays on a federal panel that recommends vaccines. The new requirement reflects uncertainty over the nation’s vaccine policy under the Trump administration. Such turmoil has led several Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers to explore whether they can put more power in...
‘Sticker shock’ coming for Pennie users as health insurance premiums soar
The Health Insurance Marketplace is set to get more expensive for most Pennsylvanians who rely on it. Monthly premiums could rise by 300% for some residents who use the state’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance exchange, Pennie, to secure coverage. The average enrollee faces a possible 82% increase. All...
Trump plans a hefty tax on imported drugs, risking higher prices and shortages
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has plastered tariffs on products from almost every country on earth. He’s targeted specific imports including autos, steel and aluminum. But he isn’t done yet. Trump has promised to impose hefty import taxes on pharmaceuticals, a category of products he’s largely spared in his trade...
Ex-CDC official warns of ‘undoing of vaccination’ under Kennedy policiesVideo
A former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Sunday that he can “only see harm coming” under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis resigned last Wednesday in the wake of the White House’s firing of the agency’s director, Susan...
From diagnosis to dumbbells: How weightlifting is helping cancer patients
Breast cancer couldn’t stop Dianne Miller from becoming the strongest she has ever been. In fact, the devastating disease is what drove her to pump some iron. After a lumpectomy for Stage 1 cancer in 2023, the 68-year-old from Ligonier didn’t require chemotherapy but opted into a weightlifting study offered...
Medical experts sound alarm over CDC turmoil
Political maneuvering has overtaken disease as the greatest threat to national and global health, three public health experts told TribLive. The experts, Drs. Amesh Adalja, Paul Offit and Syra Madad, are among those sounding alarms after the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was fired by...
UPMC made $349 million by halfway point of 2025
UPMC earned $349 million in the first half of 2025, a massive improvement after having lost almost as much money by the same point last year. The provider side of UPMC generated $243 million in operating income, compared to $106 million for its insurance business, according to a financial report...
Pittsburgh VA restarts town hall tour, including stop in Jeannette
The Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System has revived a town hall tour in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio after abruptly canceling it last month. The tour has four stops where veterans can get information on their benefits, enroll in coverage and hear directly from leadership at the Pittsburgh VA: •...
CDC director Susan Monarez is out after less than a month on the job; other agency leaders resign
NEW YORK — The director of the nation’s top public health agency is out after less than one month in the job, and several top agency leaders have resigned. “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service...
CDC dramatically scales back program that tracks food poisoning infections
Federal health officials have dramatically scaled back a program that has tracked food poisoning infections in the U.S. for three decades. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, known as FoodNet, has cut required monitoring to just two pathogens that cause infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
