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Amid a swelling measles outbreak, the top public health officials are accusing Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, of withholding information about the cases and are questioning whether measles caused the deaths. The Pennsylvania Health Department disputes those claims. The Lancaster County coroner said a newborn, who had evidence of the virus in lung tissue, suffered a ruptured spleen.
The research, released Thursday in the journal Science, is a map of the genetic mutations associated with autism and how they affect the brain. Scientists hope to use this map to develop more targeted therapies.
Tulane University has announced that it is spearheading a $500 million effort to convert the building that once housed Charity Hospital into a pioneering medical research facility, AP reported. It has been shut for over two decades after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
People 65 and older qualify for the shots, as do people who have an increased risk of severe infection. Off-label vaccines could be available to others, but some states don't permit pharmacists to give shots that haven't been OK'd by the CDC. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, still in legal limbo, has not made a recommendation about whether the shots should be covered by insurance.
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Here are today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers tackle these public health topics.
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
According to Modern Healthcare, the Mississippi Insurance Department is preparing to spend $20 million in state funds to launch the “Mississippi Option” next year. The portal for short-term plans, ineligible for federal subsidies, features scaled-back prescription drug coverage and could help thousands of middle-class residents who can’t afford the premiums for health insurance exchange policies.
Earlier this month PatientRightsAdvocate.org sued the American Medical Association in federal court, claiming that it "has no valid copyright" and "has no right to withhold [Current Procedural Terminology] from the public and charge hefty fees for access," MedPage Today reported. An AMA spokesperson said it will "vigorously defend the AMA's intellectual property rights to ensure the continued access physicians and patients rely on."
People in the Make America Healthy Again movement point to Heidi Overton's role in President Donald Trump's executive order to spur production of a pesticide as a red flag that should sink her confirmation, The Washington Post reported. The White House says that Overton played only a bit role at the end of the process and that she “pushed as many MAHA-minded edits as possible."
In a landmark settlement, Meta said it would pay up to $18 billion and establish restrictions for teen users, including daily usage limits, blocks on nighttime use, and disabling “like” counts. However, some teens shrugged at the news, telling The New York Times, “If anything, it’s just going to make kids fake their age more.”
During a visit to Florida, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also spoke about two recent measles deaths, claiming Pennsylvania health officials are withholding information about the cases. The state's health department confirmed to ABC News that an infant was one of the measles-associated deaths.
The drug, daraxonrasib, was approved Wednesday and will be sold under the name Rasonque. In clinical trials, patients who were given the drug showed nearly double the average survival time compared with those treated with chemotherapy.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers delve into these public health topics.
Turkish antitrust authorities this month launched the probe into whether Teva Pharmaceuticals manipulated the patent system to squash competition, Stat reported. Teva has denied any wrongdoing and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
The city and the state's Department of Housing are teaming up to build 47 affordable housing units across the street from Saint Mary’s Hospital and a couple miles from Waterbury Hospital. Connecticut is also in early-stage talks with two other hospitals about opportunities for affordable housing development, The CT Mirror reported.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois, has sent an inquiry to the CEO of Gateway Regional Medical Center and to the head of Los Angeles-based American Healthcare Systems, which owns the facility, after reports of the hospital’s inability to pay employees, staffing issues, and disruptions in care for critically ill patients, St. Louis Public Radio reported.
For the past two decades, the country music icon — who died Tuesday at age 80 — donated millions of dollars to numerous medical and scientific establishments. Her gifts helped fund the Moderna covid vaccine, a pediatric cancer center, a women's health center, and more.
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