Health Headlines
What to know about Dr. Oz as Trump picks him to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that heart surgeon-turned-TV-host Dr. Mehmet Oz would lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)."America is facing a Healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr. Oz to Make America Healthy Again," Trump said in a statement. "He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades."The position of CMS administrator requires Senate confirmation.Here's what to know about Oz, his medical career and some medical claims he's made that have come under fire.Is Oz a real doctor?Oz graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed a Master ... Read More
Escaped primates open can of worms for South Carolina’s Alpha Genesis research lab
Yemassee Police Department(YEMASSEE, SC) -- With four primates still on the loose after 43 of them escaped on Nov. 6 from the Alpha Genesis Inc. research laboratory in South Carolina, the Low Country facility has come under intense scrutiny.Animal rights groups have cited the company's history of violations and previous monkey breakouts; a member of Congress has called for an inquiry into its oversight by multiple federal agencies; and residents voiced concern the furry fugitives might spread disease throughout their community.On top of it all, Alpha Genesis founder and CEO Gregory Westergaard told ABC News his company is investigating whether the release of the monkeys was "an intentional act" by an employee.The quest for freedom by the pack of young ... Read More
California confirms first US case of more severe mpox strain — but risk to public remains low
Jun Li/Getty Images/STOCK(SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif.) -- Health officials in California have confirmed the first domestic case of a more severe strain of mpox in a traveler from Eastern Africa, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The risk to the public remains low, according to the agency. Health officials are working to identify any people who may have been exposed to the person who recently traveled from Eastern Africa and was treated shortly after returning to the U.S. at a local medical facility, the CDC said.Casual contact -- including during travel -- is unlikely to pose significant risks for transmission, the agency noted.This is the first confirmed case in the U.S. of a strain, or clade, of ... Read More
Doctors worried RFK Jr. will tout vaccine-skeptic views after he is picked for HHS secretary
??????? ???????/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- With the recent pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the environmental attorney's views on vaccines have been thrust back into the spotlight.Kennedy has been a prominent vaccine skeptic, arguing that more research of vaccines is needed, although he has claimed in interviews that he has "never been anti-vaccine."Vaccine researchers tell ABC News that his recent comments don't align with his past campaigns and that, if confirmed, he could convince vaccine-hesitant parents to not vaccinate their children."He's really not a vaccine skeptic; I'm a vaccine skeptic," Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center, an attending physician in the division of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital ... Read More
Patients are stockpiling birth control over fears Trump could limit access to contraception
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images/STOCK(NEW YORK) -- Women are stocking up on birth control and asking for long-term contraception methods following President Donald Trump being elected to a second term last week, doctors say.Searches for "birth control" and "Plan B" doubled between Nov. 2 and the two days after the election, with a notable spike the day after the election, Google Search data shows.Doctors told ABC News that patients are worried that access to birth control and contraception might be limited after Trump takes office due to efforts made during his first term and comments made on the campaign trail.Dr. Brittany Cline, an OB-GYN at Northwestern Medicine, in Chicago, said she has seen an increase in the number of appointments being made ... Read More
Black infant mortality rate more than double the rate among white infants: CDC
FatCamera/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Infant mortality rates remained relatively unchanged from 2022 to 2023, but racial and ethnic disparities still persist, new provisional federal data released early Thursday finds.The U.S. provisional infant mortality rate in 2023 was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, unchanged from the 2022 rate, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).The report also found that infants born to Black mothers still died at much higher rates than those born to white and Asian mothers -- more than double the rate of white infant mortality, according to the CDC.Additionally, changes in the neonatal mortality rate from 3.59 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022 to ... Read More
What Trump has said about birth control, and what he could do as president
Isabel Pavia/Getty ImagesThe election of former President Donald Trump to a second term has put a spotlight on what his return to the White House may look like, particularly when it comes to women's health.Online searches for topics related to women's health have spiked since the Nov. 5 election, particularly when it comes to birth control, Google data shows.Searches for IUDs, birth control pills, and Plan B are trending higher than they have since June 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, giving states the power to decide abortion access.Since then, at least 14 states have ceased nearly all abortion services, and 21 states have put into effect restrictions on abortion.The current abortion landscape combined with Trump's comments about birth control on the campaign trail and his first ... Read More
What parents should know about kids and caffeine amid rise in ER visits
Image via Adobe Stock(NEW YORK) -- A new study is highlighting a dramatic rise in caffeine-related emergency room visits among kids.The study, released Monday by Epic Research, found the number of caffeine-related ER visits for middle school-aged children nearly doubled from 2017 to 2023, rising from 3.1 per 100,000 visits in 2017 to 6.5 per 100,000 visits in 2023.For high school-aged children, the rate nearly doubled, rising from 7.5 per 100,000 visits in 2017 to 13.7 per 100,000 visits in 2023, according to the study.Notably, the study, which looked at more than 223 million ER visits, found that boys had triple the rate of caffeine-related ER visits as girls.The new study comes less than two months after the release of ... Read More
CDC updates recommendations for bird flu testing, treatment after more infections found among dairy workers
STOCK PHOTO/Koto_feja/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is updating its recommendations for testing, treatment and protection for workers who may be exposed to animals infected with bird flu.The update comes after the agency found evidence of dairy workers with positive antibodies, suggesting more bird flu infections that previously reported, according to a new report released Thursday afternoon.Serologic testing, which looks at antibodies in the blood, found that eight out of 115 workers, or 7%, who were exposed to bird flu during outbreaks among cows at dairy farms in Michigan and Colorado had evidence of recent infection.All eight workers said their jobs included either milking cows or cleaning a milking parlor. Four workers recalled experiencing symptoms, ... Read More
What we know about Trump’s health care plans after Harris says he’ll roll back protections
Maskot/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump will roll back health care protections if he wins the presidential election.Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Madison, Wisconsin, Harris said Trump unsuccessfully tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark law signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2010, while he was president."Insurance companies could go back to a time where they would deny you coverage for health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, such being a survivor of breast cancer, asthma, diabetes," Harris said. "The American people, regardless of who they are voting for, know the importance of Obamacare in terms of expanding coverage to health care, based on the fundamental principle I hold deeply: access ... Read More
Number of people sickened in E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders rises to 90: CDC
Photo Illustration by Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesThe number of cases in the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders has risen to 90, federal health officials said in an update on Wednesday.Cases have been reported in 13 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Most of the cases have been in Colorado, which has 29 reported cases, and Montana, which has 17 reported cases, according to the CDC.Cases have also been reported in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming, according to the CDC, which further notes that illnesses have occurred between Sept. 27 and Oct. 16 of this year.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.Copyright © ... Read More
Police take down crime group accused of making illegal cannabis edibles packaged like name-brand candy
Royal Canadian Mounted Police(VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA) -- Police in Canada said they have arrested six people and taken down an organized crime group believed to have produced tens of thousands of counterfeit cannabis-laced candy bars and edibles resembling popular name-brand products.The takedown began early this month when the Pacific Region Royal Canadian Mounted Police federal policing investigators executed search warrants at two dispensaries and five separate residences on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 3, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Tuesday.“These warrants were associated to an organized crime group allegedly involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs, and contraband tobacco in Port Alberni and Nanaimo,†authorities said. “The dispensaries in ... Read More
Bird flu cases rise to 31 in US, still no evidence of person-to-person spread: CDC
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The number of confirmed bird flu cases has risen in the U.S. to 31, federal health officials said on Thursday.Washington health officials reported four presumptive positive bird flu cases over the weekend. Since then, two of the four cases have been confirmed, according to Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The confirmed and presumptive cases all worked with infected poultry at a commercial egg farm. All had mild symptoms and were given antiviral medication.“These numbers of confirmed and presumptive cases will certainly shift as more cases are potentially identified in Washington state and then confirmed at the CDC,†Shah said during a press conference on Thursday.Additionally, the number of ... Read More
Active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease: Study
Iuliia Burmistrova/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The active ingredient found in popular medications for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, including Ozempic and Wegovy, may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a new study published Thursday finds.Researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, looked at three years of electronic records of almost 1 million patients with Type 2 diabetes, including those prescribed semaglutide.Semaglutide falls under a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1s, which mimic the GLP-1 hormone that is produced in the gut after eating.It can help produce more insulin, which reduces blood sugar and therefore helps control Type 2 diabetes. It can also interact with the brain and signal ... Read More
Weight loss drugs like Ozempic may help reduce overdose risks: Study
Iuliia Burmistrova/Getty(NEW YORK) -- A new study suggests that GLP-1 agonist medications like Ozempic, which are used for diabetes management and weight loss, may help reduce the risk of overdose and alcohol intoxication in people with substance use disorders."It helps to underline another significant benefit of this class of medication," Dr. Angela Fitch, the co-founder, and chief medical officer of knownwell, a company that provides weight-inclusive health care, told ABC News.The large study, published in the journal, Addiction, analyzed the health records of 1.3 million people from 136 U.S. hospitals for nearly nine years. That included the records of 500,000 people with opioid use and more than 800,000 with alcohol use disorder.Those who took Ozempic or a similar drug had ... Read More
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