What families should know as pediatric covid cases climb in Pennsylvania
As covid-19 cases among kids continue to climb, one Pittsburgh doctor said that, while it’s good to keep precautions in mind, it’s also important to keep kids in school, even if they’re too young to be vaccinated. Covid-19 cases have been once again rising, fueled by the highly contagious delta...
Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant sets up tent outdoors for minor cases as patient volume increases
A tent has been erected near the emergency department at Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant to help treat patients with minor issues as the overall number of patients increases, according to Chief Medical Officer Carol Fox. Hospital officials also have enacted several less visible protocols in an effort...
Can kids get ‘long covid’ after coronavirus infections?
Can kids get “long covid” after coronavirus infections? Yes, but studies indicate they’re less likely than adults to be affected by symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after infection. Estimates vary on how often the symptoms known as long covid-19 occur in kids. A recently published...
France to offer free birth control to all women up to 25
PARIS — France will offer free birth control to all women up to age 25 starting next year, the health minister announced Thursday. The measure will also include free medical visits about contraception, and will start Jan. 1, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced on France-2 television. All contraceptive methods were...
Highmark grows insurance rolls by 355K with newly inked acquisition of Gateway Health
Pennsylvania regulators have approved Highmark Health’s deal to become the sole owner of Gateway Health, instantly expanding Highmark’s insurance rolls by more than 350,000 members. “This acquisition will help us further our mission and better serve current and future Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania,” Deborah Rice-Johnson, president of Highmark...
UPMC study: Monoclonal antibody treatment reduces covid-19 hospitalization, death
Real-time studies involving UPMC’s covid-19 patients have shown that monoclonal antibody treatments “significantly decrease” hospitalization and death, researchers said Wednesday. Experts said they are studying whether such treatments are effective against more contagious variants, like the fast-spreading delta variant. The study results were published in medRxiv, a preprint journal for...
Idaho hospitals begin rationing health care amid covid surge
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho public health leaders announced Tuesday that they activated “crisis standards of care” allowing health care rationing for the state’s northern hospitals because there are more coronavirus patients than the institutions can handle. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare quietly enacted the move Monday and publicly...
Covid-19 boosters are coming but who will get them and when?
Covid-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out. The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. 20, contingent...
Deal with OxyContin maker leaves families angry, conflicted
Among the families who lost children and other loved ones in the nation’s opioid crisis, many had held out hope of someday facing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners in a courtroom. That prospect all but vanished Wednesday after a bankruptcy judge conditionally approved a settlement worth an estimated...
U.S. sues UPMC and top surgeon, alleges care violations and false billing
The federal government on Thursday filed a civil complaint against UPMC, its longtime head of cardiothoracic surgery and a physicians group, accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly putting patients at risk. The allegations against Dr. James...
School-age covid cases continue to rise in Allegheny County
Covid-19 cases among school-age children — most of whom are not old enough to be vaccinated — continue to rise in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday. On Wednesday, 45 children age 18 and under were reported to have tested positive for the virus in the previous 24 hours. It included...
Pitt experts anticipate major flu surge this season, urge flu shots
This year’s flu season may be severe with up to half a million more flu hospitalizations than usual, according to new studies from University of Pittsburgh researchers. Two studies released Tuesday — both led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health — indicated that waning...
Moderna makes twice as many antibodies as Pfizer, study saysVideo
Moderna Inc.’s covid-19 vaccine generated more than double the antibodies of a similar shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in research that compared immune responses evoked by the two inoculations. The study is one of the first to compare levels of antibodies produced by the two vaccines, which...
J&J: Potential HIV vaccine falls short in mid-stage study
A potential HIV vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson did not provide protection against the virus in a mid-stage study, the drugmaker said Tuesday. J&J plans to end that study, which involved young women in sub-Saharan Africa. But researchers will continue a separate, late-stage trial involving a different composition...
Western Pa. doctors encourage flu shots ahead of potential ‘twindemic’
As health experts implore people to be vaccinated against covid-19, they’re also reminding everyone to get an annual flu shot. Flu shots — which are safe to get in conjunction with covid-19 vaccines or boosters — could help keep flu cases low this year, health experts said, though some worry...
White House rushes to booster doses as CDC advisers bide timeVideo
U.S. public health advisers are moving slowly toward considering the nationwide plan for booster doses of covid-19 vaccines to ward off the fast-spreading delta variant, even as the Biden administration seeks a Sept. 20 kickoff. While the booster plan laid out earlier this month had targeted individuals who received their...
Scientists manage to successfully reverse age-related memory loss in mice
A group of scientists at the University of Cambridge and the University of Leeds managed to successfully reverse memory loss in aging mice. While this may seem like an insignificant blip on the scientific radar, this breakthrough is very importantly indicative of how the same methods may be used in...
UPMC touts growing North Hills hospital hub, $12B in midyear revenue
UPMC executives boasted Thursday of “transforming” the health system’s North Hills footprint into a hub of innovative, high-demand health care services — such as robotic lung cancer detectors, more options for women and children, and a new mobile unit set to hit the streets next week. “We’ve added an extremely...
California looking to pay drug addicts to stay sober
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Frustrated by out-of-control increases in drug overdose deaths, California’s leaders are trying something radical: They want the state to be the first to pay people to stay sober. The federal government has been doing it for years with military veterans and research shows it is one of...
Pa. opioid disaster declaration is coming to an end
Pennsylvania’s opioid disaster declaration, which was first put in place more than three years ago, is now coming to an end. Gov. Tom Wolf issued the disaster declaration for the opioid crisis in January 2018 and renewed it 15 times. The Democratic governor sought to renew it again this month....
Johnson & Johnson reports its booster shot increases antibodies ninefold
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson says a booster shot of its covid-19 vaccine appears to produce “a rapid and robust” increase in antibodies needed to fight the coronavirus. The drugmaker says researchers saw a ninefold increase in antibodies than levels seen about a month after the first dose...
Earlier diabetes tests recommended for overweight U.S. adults
Overweight and obese Americans should start getting screened for diabetes earlier, at age 35 instead of 40, according to updated national guidelines published Tuesday. The new advice stems from rising rates of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, and research showing health benefits of prevention methods and early treatment. Three...
West Virginia’s largest private employer issues worker vaccine mandate
CHARLESTON — The West Virginia University Health System, the state’s largest private employer, announced Monday that it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Oct. 31 as covid-19 cases continue to grow exponentially statewide. The mandate applies to workers at all of the WVU Health...
5 things to know about the Pfizer covid vaccine approvalVideo
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its full approval of the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine Monday. The move comes eight months after the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the United States. Infectious disease experts hope the full approval will inspire those wary of the vaccine to now...
WHO head calls for 2-month vaccine booster moratorium
BUDAPEST, Hungary — The head of the World Health Organization on Monday called for a two-month moratorium on administering booster shots of covid-19 vaccines as a means of reducing global vaccine inequality and preventing the emergence of new coronavirus variants. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Hungary’s capital,...
