Key takeaways: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first vaccine to protect babies from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) before they are…
Posts published in “Health”
Three people were tragically killed and six others were wounded in a shooting in south Seattle early Sunday morning. The victims were taken to local hospitals, with one in critical condition, and police have not released any information about a possible suspect or suspects. Technology such as AI can help identify potential threats and analyze data to better understand and prevent gun violence.
Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady and advocate for mental health, will celebrate her 96th birthday on Friday surrounded by her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, and other family members. Plains, Georgia, where the couple were born, married, and where Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign was launched, will honor Rosalynn's years of public health advocacy and her unwavering support of her husband’s work. The Carter Center announced that Rosalynn will have a quiet birthday celebration as she navigates dementia and the former president continues to receive hospice care.
Residents of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories are evacuating their homes as a wildfire moves closer to the city of 20,000. Thousands have fled, driving hundreds of kilometers to safety or waiting in long lines for emergency flights. The wildfire season in Canada has been the worst on record, with 8,000 wildfires burning over 4.6 million hectares of land. The government has deployed military personnel and aircraft to help fight the fires and has asked for international help.
Maui County's top emergency management official, Herman Andaya, resigned Thursday due to health reasons. This comes one day after he defended his decision not to sound warning sirens as wildfires swept across the island. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen has accepted Andaya's resignation and is urging residents to remain vigilant and prepared for any potential emergencies while they search for a replacement.
Three people in the northeastern United States have died from a rare flesh-eating bacteria this summer, Vibrio vulnificus, which can spread through warm, brackish water or the consumption of undercooked shellfish. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has urged residents to take precautions when swimming in warm, brackish water or eating raw shellfish, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people with weakened immune systems avoid eating raw shellfish and wear protective clothing when handling it.
The Republican-led General Assembly in North Carolina has passed a bill that bars medical professionals from providing hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs and surgical gender-transition procedures to minors, with limited exceptions. The bill has been met with strong opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates, while supporters argue it is necessary to protect children from making irreversible decisions. The bill’s passage marks a major victory for social conservatives in North Carolina and sets a precedent for other states.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FDA failed to address safety concerns when it made the abortion pill mifepristone easier to obtain in 2016. The ruling is a win for abortion opponents, who argued that the FDA’s alterations to the drug’s disbursement regime in 2016 qualified as “reopening” the question of its initial approval. The court said that mifepristone should remain available under the rules that were in place from 2000 to 2016, which will likely have a significant impact on the availability of the drug.