Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Biden plans to end the COVID-19 national emergency on May 11

5:03am January 31, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks to Lawrence Gostin, professor of Global Health at Georgetown University, about the Biden administration's decision to end the COVID public health emergency in May.

Fifth-graders wearing face masks sit at proper social distancing during a music class at the Milton Elementary School in Rye, N.Y., May 18, 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered classrooms set back learning in some U.S. school systems by more than a year, with children in high-poverty areas affected the most, according to data shared with The Associated Press.

COVID-19 is a leading cause of death among children, but is still rare

4:25am January 31, 2023

by Ayana Archie

Children ages 19 and under died from COVID-19 at a rate at 1 per 100,000, making it rare, but still a leading cause of death among that age group.

Scientists hope to curb the deadly Nipah virus that terrorizes Bangladesh villages

8:26pm January 30, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Every couple of years, a deadly outbreak of Nipah virus terrorizes villages in Bangladesh. Scientists there are studying the virus, which is harbored in fruit bats, to stop the cycle of outbreaks.

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Wegovy has been called "a major breakthrough" given how well it works to reduce body weight. But the injection drug is extremely expensive and when people can't afford to stay on it, they experience rebound weight gain that's hard to stop.

Wegovy works. But here's what happens if you can't afford to keep taking the drug

7:46pm January 30, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

The new weight-loss drugs can be life-changing for people facing health conditions worsened by obesity, but price and spotty insurance coverage may keep them out of reach.

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A view of the White House before an event on the South Lawn September 21, 2007 in Washington, DC.

The White House plans to end COVID emergency declarations in May

7:20pm January 30, 2023

by Dana Farrington

The declarations have been extended several times since they were first enacted back in 2020. The plan could have implications for several COVID-related policies, such as funds for tests and vaccines.

"I was much less self-assured now that I was a patient myself," says neurosurgeon Henry Marsh. "I suddenly felt much less certain about how I'd been [as a doctor], how I'd handled patients, how I'd spoken to them."

After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death and his career in a new way

5:15pm January 30, 2023

by Terry Gross

Dr. Henry Marsh felt comfortable in hospitals — until he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. "I was much less self-assured now that I was a patient myself," he says. His book is And Finally.

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Brenna Kearney plays with her daughter, Joey, at home in Chicago. When Kearney was pregnant, she developed a rare type of preeclampsia and had to undergo an emergency cesarean section. Joey was discharged after a 36-day stay in the NICU.

Health & Safety

A baby spent 36 days at an in-network hospital. Why did her parents get a huge bill?

5:07pm January 30, 2023

by Harris Meyer

A family had more than $12,000 in medical bills they couldn't explain after their baby was delivered early. It turns out the doctors who cared for her worked at a different, out-of-network hospital.

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Johnson & Johnson announced last year that it would suspend all talc baby powder sales worldwide.

Health & Safety

Appeals court clears the way for more lawsuits over Johnson's Baby Powder

4:32pm January 30, 2023

A U.S. appeals court has dismissed the bankruptcy case filed by a Johnson & Johnson spinoff company. Around 40,000 cancer patients have filed suit, alleging the powder was contaminated with asbestos.

Illustration of a person and a virus at a bar. The person says, "I've kept up with the pandemic, so I'm pretty much a virus expert now!" The virus responds, "Wanna bet?"

QUIZ: Test your knowledge of spillover viruses, starting with ... what are they?

11:26am January 30, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

As we launch a series about spillover viruses — like SARS-CoV-2, which triggered a global pandemic, you may have a lot of questions. So do we — 7, to be exact, in the quiz below.

NC expands funding to help college students fighting substance use disorders

10:56am January 30, 2023

by Neal Charnoff

North Carolina has awarded over $3 million to support recovery programs for college students with substance use disorders.