Health

Drugstores are ready to deliver updated covid-19 vaccines this fall and insurers plan to pay for them, even though the shots no longer come recommended by an important government committee. On Friday, vaccine advisers picked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declined to specifically recommend the shots but said...

ATLANTA — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers added confusion Friday to this fall’s covid-19 vaccinations — declining to recommend them for anyone and leaving the choice up to those who want a shot. Until now, the vaccinations had been recommended as a routine step in the...

A federal recommendation against giving youngsters a single catchall shot for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox falls in line with existing practices, medical experts told TribLive Friday. The combined vaccine, abbreviated as MMRV, should no longer be given to children under 4 years old, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices...

Pennsylvania has joined a coalition of northeastern states in an effort to develop public health and immunization guidelines amid concerns about the direction of federal health agencies. The group will meet regularly to coordinate on public health efforts such as emergency preparedness and the creation of immunization guidelines. “Pennsylvania is...

Days after Meagan Brazil-Sheehan’s 6-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia, they were walking down the halls of UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center when they ran into Robin the Robot. “Luca, how are you?” it asked in a high-pitched voice programmed to sound like a 7-year-old girl. “It’s been awhile.” Brazil-Sheehan...

ATLANTA — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine advisory committee on Thursday recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopt new restrictions on a combination shot that protects against chickenpox as well as measles, mumps and rubella. The panel advised that the vaccine known as MMRV...

Congressional Democrats won’t get any help from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman as they risk a government shutdown in a bid to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. The Braddock Democrat, who has a habit of breaking with his party at inopportune times, said Tuesday his philosophical opposition to shutdowns comes before his...

NEW YORK — Amazon says it’s making a $1 billion investment to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers. The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour and said that some of...

Weight loss surgery is a cheaper and more effective way than medications like Ozempic for obese patients to shed pounds, according to a Highmark Health study released Wednesday that tracked thousands of people. Patients with severe obesity lost 28% of their weight on average, compared to just 10% with the...

WASHINGTON — Fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez will tell senators that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressured her to endorse new vaccine recommendations before seeing scientific evidence, according to a copy of the testimony she plans to give during a hearing Wednesday. According to...

WASHINGTON — For the first time, federal health officials are taking aim at telehealth companies promoting unofficial versions of prescription drugs — including popular weight loss medications — as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pharmaceutical advertising. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday posted more than 100 letters...

The parents of teenagers who killed themselves after interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots are planning to testify to Congress on Tuesday about the dangers of the technology. Matthew Raine, the father of 16-year-old Adam Raine of California, and Megan Garcia, the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III of Florida, are...

Joe Burrow is the latest NFL star to be sidelined by turf toe — an odd-sounding but extremely painful injury. Its seemingly non-threatening name might cause some to downplay it. But turf toe certainly is no joking matter for anyone who has had to work their way back onto the...

NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisory committee meets this week, with votes expected on whether to change recommendations on shots against covid-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. The exact questions to be voted on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta are unclear. Officials at the Department...

WASHINGTON — There’s bipartisan support in Congress for extending tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the covid-19 pandemic. But the credits are in danger of expiring as Republicans and Democrats clash over how to do it. Democrats are threatening to vote to...

In state legislatures across the country, medication abortion has emerged as the central focus of the fight over abortion rights. As Democratic lawmakers in blue states enact shield laws to protect abortion medication prescribers, their Republican counterparts — particularly in states that have banned abortion — are filing a flurry...

KINSHASA, Congo — Limited access and scarce funds are the key challenges facing health officials trying to respond to the latest Ebola outbreak in southern Congo, the World Health Organization said Friday. It is the first Ebola outbreak in 18 years in Kasai province, a remote part of Congo with...

NEW YORK — Federal health officials intend to award a contract to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to investigate if there is a link between vaccinations and autism, according to a government procurement notice. The Troy, N.Y.-based engineering school is getting the no-bid contract because of its “unique ability” to link data...

The governors of Arizona, Illinois, Maine and North Carolina on Friday joined the growing list of Democratic officials who have signed orders intended to ensure most residents can receive covid-19 vaccines at pharmacies without individual prescriptions. Unlike past years, access to covid-19 vaccines has become complicated in 2025, largely because...

MELBOURNE, Australia — A regulator has approved a world-first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia infections, which are causing infertility and death in the iconic native species that is listed as endangered in parts of Australia. The single-dose vaccine was developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland...

A deadly malady known as “kissing bug” disease is now an endemic illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nation is seeing a rise in the illness, which is officially known as Chagas disease. It can be life-threatening and is transmitted through...

A group of 60 advanced practitioners has voted to join hundreds of nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in forming a union. The advanced practitioners — including certified registered nurse practitioners, neonatal nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and other positions — voted to join SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, following about 800 nurses...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is imploring the nation’s public health agencies to prioritize investigations of vaccine injuries, prescription drug use and the cause of autism in a new “Make America Healthy Again” report focused on children released Tuesday. The 20-page report, overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert...

The bodies of roughly 100 UPMC providers and local community activists laid sprawled outside UPMC’s Downtown headquarters Monday, as part of a nonviolent protest against the health-care network for restricting gender-affirming care. “It is about us being told that we cannot have the health care we need to survive, to...

Giant Eagle will open standalone pharmacies at former Rite Aid locations in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood and Sewickley, the company confirmed to TribLive on Monday. These will be similar to traditional drugstores, according to the Cranberry-based grocery chain, with a pharmacy counter as well as a wide selection of health...