Experimental covid-19 vaccine is put to its biggest testVideo
The biggest test yet of an experimental covid-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the U.S. government as part of the all-out global race to stop the pandemic. The glimmer of hope came even as Google,...
New AHN Cancer Institute-Allegheny General opens Monday
Allegheny Health Network plans to open its new 90,000-square foot AHN Cancer Institute-Allegheny General on Monday morning. It’s the centerpiece of Highmark and AHN’s $300 million expansion of cancer care throughout Western Pennsylvania, according to an AHN statement. The institute will serve as a hub for Allegheny Health Network’s community...
Legal experts: Mask requirements likely don’t violate Americans with Disabilities Act
Cries from across the country claiming constitutional rights are being stripped away by mask requirements might not be as valid as some people think. Mask requirements, put in place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, are being challenged with lawsuits claiming they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act....
Medical study is seeking people who may have tick immunity or resistanceVideo
Jason Bobe is looking for a few of what he calls “medical superheroes.” Bobe, an associate professor in the genetics and genome science department at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, is part of Mount Sinai’s Resilience Project. It seeks to find people who,...
Pepcid as a coronavirus remedy? Trump administration’s $21M gamble fizzled
A nearly $21 million government-funded study to see if a popular, over-the-counter heartburn medication could be a covid-19 remedy has fizzled amid allegations of conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. In mid-April, the Trump administration...
Pa. sees 1st West Nile case of the year in Potter County
Pennsylvania recorded its first probable human case of West Nile Virus this year, according to state health officials. A resident of Potter County was tested for the virus, with samples sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. The state recorded seven cases of West Nile in...
FDA recalling some hand sanitizers over methanol risk
Careful what hand sanitizer you choose. The Food and Drug Administration said this month that it has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizers that contain methanol but are listed as containing ethanol, or ethyl alcohol. Methanol, or wood alcohol, can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can...
Pennsylvania reports 962 new coronavirus cases, 16 additional deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 962 new coronavirus cases statewide and 16 additional deaths. The state’s total now sits at 104,358 cases and 7,079 deaths attributed to covid-19. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram The number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,837, with 5,731 cases...
Pennsylvania health department looking to hire more contact tracers, nurses
State health officials are looking to hire more contact tracers and nurses to better control the spread of coronavirus and prepare for any potential surges in covid-19 cases. Contact tracing is the process of identifying, notifying and monitoring anyone who came in close contact with an individual who tested positive...
Pennsylvania announces new grant recipients to fight opioid epidemic
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration announced new grant recipients to fight the opioid addiction epidemic. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that the latest Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication Assisted Treatment (PacMAT) grant recipients would build medication-assisted treatment programs for uninsured, underinsured or privately insured residents who suffer from addiction. These grants...
Coronavirus infections far exceed reported cases, CDC estimatesVideo
Far more people were infected with the novel coronavirus than previously reported in several corners of the United States, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency conducted a survey looking at antibodies to the virus in 10 U.S. regions. It found prevalence...
UK coronavirus vaccine prompts immune response in early test
LONDON — Scientists at Oxford University say their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot. British researchers first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, half of whom got the...
Doctor in Alabama who survived covid-19 bewildered by public disregard
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Dr. Michael Saag spends much of his time treating patients fighting for their lives and working with colleagues who are overwhelmed and exhausted by the relentless battle against the covid-19 pandemic. But he enters a different world when he walks out the door of his Alabama clinic:...
Another study shows no hydroxychloroquine benefit in covid-19 fight
MINNEAPOLIS — An anti-malaria drug that doctors hoped would work against covid-19, and that President Donald Trump championed and said he took himself, has failed to show any benefit in a second University of Minnesota trial. Researchers compared outcomes of people with early symptoms of covid-19 — with one group...
U.S. counts 342 child inflammatory syndrome cases
ATLANTA — An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most recent count shows 342 U.S. children and teens have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to covid-19 infections. Dr. Ermias Belay presented the data Thursday during a CDC online call for physicians. Belay says that...
Mosquitoes flying free as health departments focus on coronavirus
Bug spray, swollen welts, citronella. It’s mosquito season. And in a normal year, the health department serving Ohio’s Delaware County would be setting out more than 90 mosquito traps a week — black tubs of stagnant water with nets designed to ensnare the little buggers. But this year, because of...
Pennsylvania officials warn of dangers of hot cars for children, pets as temperatures rise
As the temperatures creep back into the 90s, the state Department of Health reminded people to never leave children, older adults, or pets in a hot vehicle. Infants, young children, people 65 years of age or older, people with chronic medical conditions, and people who work outdoors are at a...
About 50% of Pa. nursing homes still have not completed universal testing of residents, staff
With nine days to go before a July 24 deadline, about half of the state’s nursing homes have completed mandated testing of all residents and staff, according to data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday. Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on June 8, about five...
Judge pushes Excela, doctors to resolve pending stent lawsuits
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday ordered Excela Health and two of its former cardiac doctors to engage in settlement talks and mediation to resolve 35 outstanding lawsuits filed by patients who contended they received unnecessary stents. Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway during a conference with lawyers for patients, the...
New peak of 71K U.S. overdose deaths in 2019 dashes hopes
Nearly 71,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a new record that predates the covid-19 crisis, which the White House and many experts believe will drive such deaths even higher. Preliminary numbers released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the trend is driven by fentanyl...
First covid-19 vaccine tested in U.S. poised for final testingVideo
The first covid-19 vaccine tested in the United States revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday — as the shots are poised to begin key final testing. “No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s...
Judge: Women can get abortion pill without doctor visits
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women during the covid-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland concluded that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion...
Pandemic, racism compound worries about Black suicide rate
CHICAGO — Jasmin Pierre was 18 when she tried to end her life, overdosing on whatever pills she could find. Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she survived two more attempts at suicide, which felt like the only way to stop her pain. Years of therapy brought progress, but the 31-year-old...
More than 560 people died of overdoses in Allegheny County in 2019
Overdose deaths in Allegheny County rose slightly in 2019, and combinations of fentanyl/cocaine and fentanyl/heroin remained the deadliest combinations — a grim reminder that the opioid epidemic continues to rage on. Across the county, drug overdoses killed 564 people last year, up from 492 in 2018. Fentanyl was found in...
CDC: No rewriting of guidelines for reopening schoolsVideo
WASHINGTON — Despite President Donald Trump’s sharp criticism, federal guidelines for reopening schools are not being revised, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Dr. Robert Redfield said the agency would be issuing “additional reference documents” for parents and schools to facilitate the reopening and...
