California mulls letting adults add parents to health plans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California could become the only state to let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a policy proposal aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren’t eligible for government-funded coverage. Former President Barack Obama’s health...
Vaccinated Americans may get clearance to skip the masks outdoorsVideo
WASHINGTON — A growing call for health officials to relax rules about outdoor mask wearing could soon lead to one of the most significant changes in virus guidelines since the U.S. first told Americans to don face coverings to curb the spread of covid-19. Outdoor mask wearing has been the...
UPMC Magee encouraged by study of pregnant women receiving covid vaccine
Early findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine show the possible side effects of covid-19 vaccines in pregnant women were similar to those for all women. The first published results were released last week. Of the 35,691 participants ages 16 to 54 — at all stages of pregnancy...
Excela Health virtual childbirth classes help expectant parents
When Megan Fritz was preparing to become a mother for the first time, she found herself scouring the internet to learn how to breastfeed her newborn. It was difficult for the Unity woman to find reliable sources at a time when in-person classes on the topic have been halted because...
Texting option weighed for upcoming ‘988’ suicide hotline
Recognizing that many Americans rely on texting, U.S. regulators are weighing whether to require that phone companies allow people to text a suicide hotline. The Federal Communications Commission last summer voted to require a new “988” number for people to call to reach a suicide-prevention hotline. Phone companies have until...
I’m fully vaccinated against covid-19. How long will the protection last?Video
In the United States, the number of adults who have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine is now higher than the number who haven’t. In addition, one in three U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With...
Medical marijuana program in Pa. celebrates 5-year anniversary
Diana Briggs remembers the days when her son Ryan suffered through 400 seizures a day. She believes the legalization of medical marijuana — five years ago — in Pennsylvania changed his life. Ryan, who went through a medical emergency at birth 21 years ago, is now a special-needs adult with...
Bill ending religious vaccine exemption now heads to Conn. Senate
A contentious bill that would end Connecticut’s long-standing religious exemption from immunization requirements for schools, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, now awaits action in the state Senate. The legislation passed on a 90-53 vote in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday, following more than...
EU agency links J&J shot to rare clots, says odds favor use
LONDON — The European Union’s drug regulatory agency said Tuesday that it found a “possible link” between Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine and extremely rare blood clots and that a warning should be added to the label. But experts at the agency reiterated that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks....
Federal officials reverse limits on fetal tissue research
Federal officials on Friday reversed Trump administration restrictions on using human fetal tissue for medical research. The changes clear the way for using government money on work that in the past has led to treatments for a variety of diseases, including covid-19. Government scientists now will be able to resume...
Pfizer CEO says 3rd covid-19 booster shot ‘likely’ needed within a year of getting vaccinatedVideo
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted Thursday that people who have received the company’s covid-19 vaccine will “likely” need a third booster shot within a year to maintain protection against the virus. “It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told...
AHN closing outpatient center; UPMC plans grand opening in New Kensington
One of the region’s largest medical providers will be closing a facility in New Kensington and its rival will be opening a new one within days of each other in May. Allegheny Health Network will close its outpatient center in the former Citizens General Hospital on May 11, the network...
J&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidenceVideo
Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk really is. The reports...
Allegheny Health Network opens clinic to treat covid long-haulers
The migraines came first. Two or three weeks after she recovered from covid-19 in August, Jennifer Gorzock said she started experiencing the intense headaches, along with fatigue and disorienting mental fog. She noted her experience with the covid illness itself was relatively mild. She needed medications to get through it...
U.S. agency says women can get abortion pill via mail
WASHINGTON — Women seeking an abortion pill will not be required to visit a doctor’s office or clinic during the covid-19 pandemic, U.S. health officials said Tuesday in the latest reversal in an ongoing legal battle over the medication. The Food and Drug Administration announced the policy change a day...
Regeneron’s antibody drug can help prevent covid-19 from spreading among household membersVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Drugs that can keep high-risk covid-19 patients out of the hospital are going begging because the supposed breakthrough treatments require an hour-long intravenous infusion and offer a rather small chance of benefit. On Monday, Regeneron announced results that may help make its monoclonal antibody combination, now branded REGEN-COV,...
Why ‘bailed-out’ hospital giants like UPMC thrived in 2020 while others floundered
UPMC wasn’t the only multibillion-dollar U.S. health system that got hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-spurred federal relief, and then went on to rake in more money in 2020 than it did pre-pandemic. It’s not merely thanks to hefty bailouts and slowly rebounding hospital coffers that UPMC and other...
Australia halts AstraZeneca vaccine for most people under 50
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia on Thursday become the latest country to restrict use of the AstraZeneca vaccine by recommending that it not be given to people under age 50. The announcement came after Australian drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings earlier in the day. The recommendation came after...
U.K. advises limiting AstraZeneca in under-30s amid clot worryVideo
LONDON — British authorities recommended Wednesday that the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine not be given to adults under 30 where possible because of strengthening evidence that the shot may be linked to rare blood clots. The recommendation came as regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union emphasized that the...
Covid testing blitz undermined screening, fight against STDs
WASHINGTON — After an unprecedented push to test and track covid-19, public health workers are grappling with a worrisome side effect: a collapse in screening for sexually transmitted diseases that have been on the rise for years. Testing for diseases like chlamydia and gonorrhea plummeted in many parts of the...
Class-action lawsuit contending Highmark failed to pay overtime to nurses reviewing insurance coverage
A nurse who worked for Highmark Inc. reviewing insurance coverage authorization requests filed a federal lawsuit against the company on Tuesday, alleging that it failed to pay required overtime. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, seeks class-action status and includes claims for violations of the federal Fair...
Study: Moderna vaccine lasts at least 6 months
BOSTON — New research suggests the protection the Moderna vaccine gives against covid-19 lasts for at least six months. The report Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine echoes what Pfizer said last week about its vaccine, which works in a similar way. Both reports were based on follow-up...
FDA OKs first new ADHD drug in over a decade for children
U.S. regulators have approved the first new drug in over a decade for children with ADHD, which causes inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The Food and Drug Administration late Friday OK’d Qelbree for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children ages 6 to 17. It comes as a capsule that’s taken...
CDC inquiry sought on HIV outbreak in West Virgina’s largest county
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday submitted a congressional inquiry with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding an HIV outbreak in West Virginia’s largest county. The West Virginia Democrat asked for the inquiry on behalf of the Kanawha County Commission two months after a CDC official warned that...
Have an idea to improve masks? Biden administration holds $500K contest
President Joe Biden’s administration is looking for ways to improve face masks — and will give out $500,000 in prizes to help do it. The Mask Innovation Challenge invites Americans to submit ideas to make masks more comfortable to wear and to eliminate “barriers to use,” such as discomfort, contact...
