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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a draft report that says it can't recommend routinely screening young people who have no obvious signs of suicidal thoughts. Critics of the report say screening can't cause harm. The same task force did suggest anxiety screening should start at age 8.
Media outlets cover data on overdose deaths among young people in 2019 to 2020, showing the rate was up — nearly doubling — for the first time in a decade and also rose into 2021. The main factor wasn't a surge in drug-taking, but rather pills laced with fentanyl or other opioids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of cases of syphilis and gonorrhea rose in 2020, continuing an increase that has been concerning public health officials. Part of the issue, CDC says, was the closure of screening clinics and people putting off visits to doctors because of concerns about the spread of covid, as well as a public health focus on the pandemic efforts.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, signed a bill to outlaw most abortions in Oklahoma and punish providers severely if they perform them. The New York Times notes 30 states have introduced near-total abortion bans this year.
A report in the Wall Street Journal covers studies into whether covid vaccinations bring a risk of developing inflammatory heart conditions: In short, they do not, with risks no more elevated than for other vaccines. The Guardian looks at one of those studies that found myocarditis cases after a covid infection were rare.
The study, led by Johns Hopkins scientists, found that inflammation caused by the virus damages neurons in the olfactory bulb at the base of the brain. Also, drugmaker Moderna — after its success developing a covid vaccination — is turning its sights to a flu shot.
As the Johns Hopkins University tracker tops half a billion covid infections worldwide, experts worry about the pace -- known cases jumped from 300 million in January to 400 million in February -- and that testing deficiencies are likely not counting many new infections. News outlets also report on BA.2 spread in the U.S. as well as other subvariants.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages delve into these public health topics.
All non-emergency government staff were ordered out of Shanghai by the State Department, which also said all travel to China should be reconsidered. Meanwhile, South African scientists uncovered new subvariants of omicron covid — BA.4 and BA.5 — and they've been found in the U.K. already.
The plan is to reduce some first responders' workload and lower wait times in hospitals. In other news, thousands of children are going hungry; an aid-in-dying bill in Connecticut stalls; Sierra Health loses a $200 million lawsuit in Las Vegas; and more state news.
That harsh statistic is just one from the annual report on the State of Black America from the National Urban League — another: Black women are 31% more likely to die from breast cancer. Meanwhile, wildfire-damaged air quality makes pregnancy riskier in Western states.
The state accuses Walgreens of not noticing easily-spotted "red flags" for opioid abuse or fraud in more than half of the opioid prescriptions it issued in Florida between May 2006 and June 2021. Meanwhile, a mistrial is sought against the Ohio ex-doctor accused of paid med overprescription.
Meanwhile, congressional committees seek responses from the Food and Drug Administration after a Politico investigation uncovered slow action on food safety and nutrition problems. Also, the FDA itself says Bausch Health released misleading claims about a plaque psoriasis treatment.
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo is a health-equity researcher, and the first person of color to edit the American Medical Association's medical journal. A potential strike at Cedars-Sinai, telehealth reimbursement rules, and Vermont denying a 10% rate rise for hospitals are also in the news.
The proposed reduction in payments -- announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services -- is set to remedy an unintended 5% increase in payments for fiscal 2020, the agency said. Also in the news, a Montana hospital for psychiatric patients faces a loss of federal funding.
Veru Inc.'s said that independent safety monitors recommend wrapping up late-stage trials of sabizabulin due to the promising results. The test data have not been peer-reviewed.
In a new poll, fewer than one in 10 Americans describe covid as a crisis. Funny thing about viruses, though: They don't care what we think. Cases of variant BA.2 are spreading across the Northeast, and Rhode Island leads the nation with the highest seven-day case rate.
The requirement will go into effect April 18 and comes after a 50% increase in cases over the past 10 days. Several colleges around the country are also reinstating mask rules.
"No one in our nation should have to go bankrupt just to get the health care they need," Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday. The White House announced a series of new government policies to evaluate billing practices, make it easier to get a federal loan and to act against overly aggressive debt collectors
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