Health Headlines
What to know about the updated COVID vaccines coming this fall
Getty Images - STOCK/Tang Ming Tung(NEW YORK) -- As summer begins to wind down and many children and teenagers across the U.S. get ready to head back to school next month, it also means updated COVID-19 vaccines are around the corner.Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Americans receive the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available later this year.Health officials have used the term "updated vaccines" in anticipation of needing to formulate a new vaccine every year to match circulating variants as is done for the flu shot."Historically, when we're talking about COVID vaccines, we're talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief ... Read More
Identical quadruplets go home after three months in the NICU: ‘We’re so happy’
Jonathan and Mercedes Sandhu are the parents of identical quadruplets, who are all now home after three months in the NICU. -- Texas Children's Hospital/The Sandhu Family(HOUSTON) -- A family in Texas has welcomed home all four of their rare identical quadruplets after the infants spent over three months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).The sisters -- named Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire and Petra Anne -- were born on May 1, after their mom, Mercedes Sandhu, delivered them at 29 weeks and three days.Sandhu carried what is known as a monochorionic pregnancy, meaning all four babies shared the same placenta, according to Texas Children's Hospital, where Sandhu gave birth.The babies were born just before Mother's Day, but ... Read More
Infant mortality in the US rose 3% in 2022, marking second year of increases: CDC
Isabel Pavia/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Infant mortality rates in the United States increased by 3% in 2022, according to a new federal report published early Thursday morning.Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics looked at linked birth and death data sets -- information from the death certificate linked to the information from the birth certificate -- from the National Vital Statistics System.Data showed the rate increased from 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 5.61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. This equates to a total of 20,577 infant deaths reported in 2022, up 3% from 2021.Although the rate is lower than the 7.57 per 1,000 recorded in ... Read More
As FDA delays proposal to ban formaldehyde in hair relaxers, dermatologist shares safety tips for women
wsfurlan/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed consideration of a long-anticipated proposal to ban formaldehyde (FA) in hair-relaxing products, which some studies have linked to certain types of cancers.It is not clear when the agency plans to consider the proposed rule, which was first entered in the Unified Agenda, a government registry of actions that administrative agencies plan to issue, last October.If enacted, the rule would "ban formaldehyde and other FA-releasing chemicals as an ingredient in hair smoothing or hair straightening products marketed in the United States," according to the language entered in the Unified Agenda.Frequent use of hair-straightening products that include chemicals like formaldehyde has been found in studies to put women at a ... Read More
States across US are seeing seasonal increase in mosquitoes with West Nile virus
mrs/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Several health departments in the U.S. say they have detected West Nile virus in mosquito samples.Although the average number of actual West Nile cases is significantly lower than the same time last year, experts are urging the public to take precautions.On Monday, the Cape May County Health Department in southern New Jersey sent out a press release reporting that seven mosquito collections during the months of June and July had tested positive for West Nile virus.Denton County Public Health in Texas also reported on Monday that five positive West Nile virus mosquito traps had been collected in unincorporated Denton County, with health officials saying the locations would be fogged for treatment.In Suffolk County, New York, the ... Read More
CDC warns of listeria outbreak linked to deli meat that has left 28 sick, 2 dead
Products sold at the deli, especially those sliced or prepared at the deli, can be contaminated with Listeria. Image via CDC.(NEW YORK) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning Americans about a listeria outbreak that has sickened more than two dozen people across 12 states, possibly linked to deli meat.As of Friday, 28 people have fallen ill -- all of whom have been hospitalized -- and two people have died, one from Illinois and one from New Jersey, according to the federal health agency.New York is the state with the most cases at seven, followed by Maryland with six. States that have also reported cases include Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, ... Read More
Isabella Strahan shares she is cancer-free: ‘Everything is clear’
Isabella Strahan shared she is cancer-free after revealing she was diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year. -- Isabella Strahan/YouTube(NEW YORK) -- Isabella Strahan is on her road to a full recovery!In a new update on Thursday from a video on her YouTube channel, the 19-year-old daughter of "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan shared that she is officially cancer-free.Earlier this year, Isabella Strahan publicly revealed she had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor.In her latest vlog titled, "Goodbye Hospital," Isabella Strahan shared that she was at her last appointment at the Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center in Durham, N.C., to review results from her scans."It was a great, great scan," she said with a ... Read More
38-year-old diagnosed with stage 4 cancer weeks after finishing half-marathon
Govind Sandhu, 38, is pictured finishing a half-marathon in Sydney, just prior to his cancer diagnosis. -- @govindsandhu/Instagram(SYDNEY, Australia) -- Govind Sandhu said he felt he was at "peak fitness" when he came down with flu-like symptoms, including a fever, night sweats and body aches, in mid-May.At the time he started feeling sick, Sandhu, 38, said he had recently finished a half-marathon in his hometown of Sydney, Australia, was training for an upcoming marathon and had just taken a vacation in Bali that was focused solely on health and fitness."I'm a CrossFit'er who runs marathons and ultramarathons. Everything from the moment I wake to the moment I go to bed is optimized for peak performance," Sandhu, the head of global ... Read More
No significant risk of birth defects after pregnant women got COVID vaccine in 1st trimester: Study
Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Babies born to women who received a COVID-19 vaccine in their first trimester did not have a significant increased risk of birth defects, a new study found.For the study, published Wednesday evening in the journal The BMJ, researchers used national public health registries in Denmark, Norway and Sweden to compare pregnant women who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the first trimester and pregnant women who were infected with COVID-19 in the first trimester to women who were not vaccinated or infected.The team followed more than 343,000 babies born to women with an estimated start of pregnancy between March 1, 2020, and February 14, 2022, with each infant followed for a ... Read More
How extreme heat can impact your mental health as high temperatures sweep US
Nathan Howard/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Dangerously high temperatures have been sweeping across the southern, central and eastern U.S., leaving more than one-third of the country under heat alerts as of Tuesday afternoon.Actual temperatures are expected to hit triple digits on Tuesday in several cities and states including Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia and North Carolina while the heat index -- what the temperature feels like -- is expected to hit 104 in Dallas, 108 in Washington and 109 in Little Rock, Arkansas.The effects of extreme heat on physical health have been well-documented with people at risk of heat-related illnesses including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Experts, however, tell ABC News that heat can also have a serious impact on mental health."In ... Read More
In two years since the launch of 988, ten million contacts have been answered
Karl Tapales/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Two years after the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 10 million contacts have been answered, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration."That's 10 million people who, often on the worst day of their life, had a resource to reach out to," Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told ABC News.Prior to the launch of the three-digit number, the services provided by 988 were available through the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which had been active since 2005."In its first year, [the 10-digit Lifeline] served about 45,000 people, and to think that we serve that many people in less than a week now is ... Read More
4-month-old baby dies in extreme heat wave: Tips to keep kids safe
SimpleImages/Getty Images(PHOENIX) -- A 4-month-old baby died in Arizona last week after suffering a heat-related illness while on a boat, according to police.The infant's death comes amid an ongoing heat wave in the U.S. affecting tens of millions of people across multiple states.The infant, who was not identified by police, was rescued from a boat on Lake Havasu on July 5 and transported to a local hospital, according to authorities.From there, the infant was taken to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where they "succumbed to their injuries," the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Monday.The sheriff's office said the investigation into the child's death is "ongoing."A sheriff spokesperson told ABC News Wednesday the office is not releasing any further ... Read More
Midwives can be an Rx to America’s maternal mortality crisis
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Ashley Watts is getting ready to become a first-time mom.“This pregnancy ride has been very fulfilling,” Watts, 32, told ABC News.For Watts, this pregnancy journey is different. She has previously suffered five pregnancy losses, telling ABC News that she now suffers from hospital anxiety after feeling dismissed and unsupported by her doctors as she tried to navigate those losses and pursue motherhood.When she learned of her most recent pregnancy, Watts decided she wanted to work with a midwife and dreamed of welcoming her baby into the world at a birthing center. The cost of midwifery care, however, was a barrier in allowing Watts access to the care she felt was better suited to her needs.A 2021 ... Read More
Pfizer targets obesity with new once-daily Danuglipron drug
bymuratdeniz/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Pfizer announced early Thursday morning that it has selected its preferred once-daily modified release formulation of danuglipron, a move that it said was a significant milestone in the obesity drug’s development.Danuglipron, an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, will undergo dose optimization studies in the second half of 2024 as Pfizer seeks to evaluate multiple doses of the formulation which they hope will inform the registration-enabling studies.“Obesity is a key therapeutic area for Pfizer, and the company has a robust pipeline of three clinical and several pre-clinical candidates. The most advanced of them, danuglipron, has demonstrated good efficacy in a twice-daily formulation, and we believe a once-daily formulation has the potential to have a competitive profile ... Read More
Nearly 200 cases of dengue virus reported in New York and New Jersey: CDC
Joao Paulo Burini/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Nearly 200 people have been infected with dengue in the states of New York and New Jersey so far this year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.New York has reported 143 cases and New Jersey has reported 41.Dengue transmission is typically common in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, according to the CDC.Over 2,500 people have been infected in the U.S. so far this year, about five times higher than the same time last year. Puerto Rico currently makes up the bulk of those cases -- with over 1,700 reported. The U.S. territory declared a public health emergency back in March.The CDC issued a health alert last month ... Read More
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