health care

Gearing up for fall, health officials are recommending a new round of booster shots.

Omicron boosters: Do I need one, and if so, when?

2:54pm September 05, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

Updated COVID boosters are now available for anyone age 12 or older. The CDC is urging anyone who is eligible to sign up but some vaccine experts say some people might want to wait.

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Catholic health care systems can limit access to birth control.

Health & Safety

Catholic health care's wide reach can make it hard to get birth control in many places

5:01am September 04, 2022

by Maria Godoy

Religious rules guiding Catholic health care systems often mean their doctors can't prescribe contraceptives or perform tubal ligations. And sometimes that leaves patients with few other options.

Flags at the Washington Monument commemorate Americans who died from COVID-19. In 2021, life expectancy in the U.S. fell for the second year in a row.

Life expectancy in the U.S. continues to drop, driven by COVID-19

5:18pm August 31, 2022

Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data.

This computer-generated image shows the formation of a zygote after fertilization. Some Republican-led states, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Oklahoma, have passed laws declaring that life begins at fertilization, a contention that opens the

Health & Safety

When does life begin? As state laws define it, science, politics and religion clash

5:00am August 27, 2022

by Sarah Varney

For decades, the U.S. medical system has adhered to a legally recognized standard for death, one embraced by most states. Why is a uniform standard for the start of human life proving so elusive?

Boston Children's Hospital said it had received "threats of violence toward our clinicians and staff" after false claims were made online that the hospital provides genital surgeries to minors.

Children's hospitals are the latest target of anti-LGBTQ harassment

10:47pm August 26, 2022

by Shannon Bond

The harassment campaigns are organized online, raising questions about what role social media platforms should play in preventing abuse.

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Dani Yuengling of Conway, South Carolina, knew she had to follow up after a mammogram found a lump. Her mom had died of breast cancer. But she had no idea how expensive the biopsy would be.

Health & Safety

An $18,000 biopsy? Paying cash might have been cheaper than using her insurance

5:05am August 23, 2022

by Lauren Sausser

A hospital's cost calculator said her procedure would be $1,400 for patients without insurance. Instead, the bill was almost $18,000 and, her part was more than $5,000 — the balance of her deductible.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases listens as U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions in the press briefing room with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Fauci to step down in December after decades of public service

2:50pm August 22, 2022

by Richard Harris

Dr. Anthony Fauci helped guide the U.S. through the COVID crisis, and earlier in his career played a key role in the response to AIDS. He has served under seven presidents.

Health & Safety

Hearing loss is a direct link to dementia. Easier access to hearing aids could help

8:06am August 21, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Dr. Frank Lin of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about the link between hearing loss and dementia, and how over-the-counter hearing aids may help.

Abortion remains legal in Michigan after injunction blocks 1931 law being reinstated

8:10am August 20, 2022

by Rick Pluta

After a court ruling Friday, abortion in Michigan continues to be legal for now - though there are more legal challenges ahead.

Surgical instruments used in a kidney transplant in 2016. The agency that oversees organ allocation, the United Network for Organ Sharing, is under scrutiny after a report documented loss and waste of donated organs, often because of problems transportin

Transplant agency is criticized for donor organs arriving late, damaged or diseased

1:10pm August 18, 2022

by Blake Farmer

A probe found troubling lapses in the country's organ transplant system. Blood types mismatched, diseased organs accidentally transplanted and donor organs lost or damaged in transit.

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