Health

Stock photo of a sick child blowing their nose. Vera Livchak/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Concerns about the flu spreading in the U.S. are growing as the U.K. continues to see a spike in cases among children and young adults. The increased number of cases in the U.K., could be a predictor for the […]

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty Images (ATLANTA) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted 8-3 on Friday to remove the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices […]

The healthcare.gov website on a laptop arranged in Norfolk, Virginia, US, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — One in four Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are considering going without health insurance if their monthly premiums double next year, a new KFF poll published Thursday finds. […]

Catherine Stein, far right, speaks during a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on September 18, 2025 in Chamblee, Georgia. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet Thursday and Friday to discuss the childhood vaccine schedule, adjuvants and contaminants, […]

Westend61/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Children who have smartphones by age 12 are at higher risk of lack of sleep, obesity and depression, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. What’s more, researchers found that the earlier a child received a smartphone, the greater their risk of developing these conditions. Dr. […]

Norovirus virus particles. STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Cases of norovirus are rising across the United States, doubling over the last few months, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 14% of tests came back positive for norovirus during the most recent week ending Nov. 15, compared to roughly 7% […]

DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As measles continues to spread across the United States, questions have emerged about whether the country will retain its measles elimination status. The U.S. is currently experiencing the highest number of measles cases reported in more than three decades, in large part due to an outbreak in western […]

Tylenol is displayed for sale at a CVS Pharmacy on November 03, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court is deciding whether to revive more than 500 lawsuits filed by parents who claimed their children’s autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was caused by prenatal exposure to […]

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final version of its report on pediatric gender-affirming care on Wednesday, claiming it found “medical dangers posed to children,” which is receiving pushback from medical groups. The report alleged that gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and […]

Halfdark/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The global rise of ultra-processed foods in diets worldwide poses a major public health threat, according to experts who published a series of papers in medical journal The Lancet. The authors cite studies that show ultra-processed diets are linked to chronic health conditions like increased risk of becoming overweight and […]

Stock image of cigarette. krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Just 100 cigarettes over the course of someone’s life may be enough to raise their risk of heart disease and death, a new study suggests. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, who looked at the smoking habits of more than 300,000 adults for almost 20 years, […]

An exterior view of the South Carolina State House. Epics/Getty Images (COLUMBIA, S.C.) — A few South Carolina lawmakers are holding a hearing on Tuesday to discuss a near-total abortion ban that removes exceptions and could send anyone involved with termination of a pregnancy to prison for decades. Currently, the state has a six-week abortion […]

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Just as SNAP benefits were reinstated for millions of Americans following the reopening of the federal government, many are now set to permanently lose them. Nearly 42 million Americans, including low-income families and vulnerable households, rely on SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to help pay for groceries or […]

Stock photo of a Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma Americanum. (Joesboy/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — A New Jersey man is believed to be the first documented death from alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy triggered by tick bites. The man, a 47-year-old airline pilot, was otherwise healthy, according to a case study from researchers at the […]

Natalie Behring/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Food banks and pantries have been experiencing historic demand since SNAP benefits halted on Nov. 1 for many Americans due to the federal government shutdown. That halt affected nearly 42 million Americans, many of whom are older or low-income, and use benefits to help pay for groceries and other […]

A sign for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Maryland is seen on April 8, 2025. Maansi Srivastava/For The Washington Post via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it will remove the “black box” warning from hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products for menopause. […]

(DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Canada has lost its measles elimination status after struggling to contain a year-long outbreak, the country’s public health agency announced on Monday. The Public Health Agency of Canada said it was informed of the loss by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) after more than 12 months of […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration announced deals on Thursday with pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly that would lower the cost of GLP-1 drugs for many Americans, including those on Medicare. The administration negotiated how much both the government and consumers would pay for the drugs, which are used to treat […]

Cheng Xin/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Eli Lilly’s next generation of weight loss drugs appear to show promise, possibly leading to even faster weight loss and added health benefits, early trial results suggest. The pharmaceutical company presented the results for its newer drug at the annual ObesityWeek conference on Thursday. Known as amylin analogs, these […]

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Over the last week, Martina Santos said she feels like she’s been living a nightmare. The 67-year-old from the Bronx, New York, is one of the nearly 42 million Americans who saw their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits lapse on Nov. 1. Although the U.S. Department of […]

Pink ribbon flag in support of breast cancer awareness. Brent Lewis/The Denver Post via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — When it comes to early detection, mammograms remain the only screening test proven to reduce deaths from breast cancer in average-risk women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, only about 75% of eligible […]

Lourdes Balduque/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Tens of thousands of children and families could be affected by dozens of Head Start programs potentially closing if the federal government shutdown extends past Nov. 1. About 134 programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico will see their operational funding cease on Saturday, affecting nearly 65,000 kids, or […]

Tylenol caplets are displayed on September 22, 2025 in San Anselmo, California. The Trump administration will reportedly link use of the painkiller acetaminophen during pregnancy to autism during a White House press conference today. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the makers of Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson […]

A woman runs along a palm tree-lined street in La Jolla as the sun sets on the horizon of the Pacific Ocean on October 23, 2025 in San Diego, California. Kevin Carter/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Women may need less exercise than men to gain similar protection against coronary heart disease, according to a new study published […]

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks at a press conference with other House Republicans on the 15th day of the government shutdown in Washington, DC on October 15, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, some Americans are worried about the future of the […]

NIH-NIAID/Image Point FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Health officials in Los Angeles County said on Friday they are investigating a possible local spread of a more severe strain of mpox. Two cases of the strain were identified among Los Angeles County residents with no recent travel history. It comes after the […]

NIH-NIAID/Image Point FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The first U.S. case of a more severe strain of mpox without any recent travel history has been identified in California. Health officials said this week that the case was confirmed in a Long Beach resident. The patient required hospitalization and is now isolating […]

VCG/VCG via Getty Images (NASSUA COUNTY, N.Y.) — The New York State Department of Health has confirmed a case of locally acquired chikungunya on Long Island, marking the first case of the virus reported to be locally acquired in New York and the first locally acquired case to be reported in the United States since […]

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — As the federal government shutdown enters its tenth day, one major health care issue has continued to be a sticking point: insurance subsidies. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, or premium tax credits, help lower or eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of monthly premiums for those who […]

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. appears before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on September 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. The committee met to hear testimony on President Trump’s 2026 health care agenda. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) […]

Stock image of stethoscope. ATU Images/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A fast-rising form of breast cancer that’s harder to detect on mammograms now makes up more than one in ten cases in the United States, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS).  Invasive lobular carcinoma, the second most common breast cancer […]

Detail of vials and syringe containing a COVID-19 vaccination by Pfizer at Kaiser Permanente Venice Medical Office Building in Culver City Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its immunization schedule on Monday, dropping the universal […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — During a speech earlier this week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the implementation of new fitness standards for the military. In addition to the newly proposed annual fitness exam, Hegseth’s speech emphasized “gender-neutral” testing with men and women required to meet the same minimum physical performance benchmarks. Speaking […]

Getty/Svittlana Kuchina (NEW YORK) — Since the first Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiatives kicked off 40 years ago, major improvements have been made in treating the disease. While the rates of women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased, death rates have been declining, and five-year survival rates have risen. Additionally, most breast cancer cases are being diagnosed […]

The Good Brigade/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Oct.1 marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society (ACS) is commemorating 40 years of spreading awareness about the condition. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with one in eight developing breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — As President Donald Trump rambled and ad-libbed through an announcement meant to caution pregnant women about the possible links between the use of Tylenol and autism in children, his comments went beyond the available scientific evidence, and even the language of his own health department. He made clear he was […]

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is seen during a meeting on September 19, 2025 in Chamblee, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee on Friday indefinitely postponed its planned vote on whether to stop recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. The Advisory Committee […]

Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Four Western U.S. states have come together to issue unified vaccine recommendations for the upcoming respiratory illness season, and California has enacted a new law to base the state’s immunization guidance on independent medical organizations, rather than the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]

ER Productions Limited/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Ahead of a key meeting amongst the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisors — now with 12 members hand-picked by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. — doctors, health officials and advocates are raising alarms that the panel could reverse a decadeslong guideline of vaccinating […]

Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The United States death rate decreased by 3.8% in 2024 as COVID fell out of the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time in four years, new provisional federal data shows. The overall rate declined from 750.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 722 per […]

Dr. Lisa Gwynn says Florida’s vaccine decision will create ‘perfect storm’ for diseases. ABC News. (FLORIDA) — A top Florida pediatrician warned Thursday that the state’s plan to eliminate all vaccine mandates could lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases and put vulnerable populations at risk. Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ […]

Antonio Hugo Photo/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — People who use their smartphones while sitting on the toilet face are at higher risk for painful, itchy hemorrhoids, according to new research published in the journal PLOS One. Researchers investigated the bathroom habits of 125 adults undergoing screening colonoscopies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in […]

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida is moving to “end all vaccine mandates” in the state, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced at a press conference on Wednesday. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.   Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All […]

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House on August 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — More than 1,000 current and former employees across the Department of Health and Human […]

sshepard/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Dr. Richard Besser explains why he and other former directors of the CDC wrote an op-ed criticizing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handling of the CDC and public health.Nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are speaking out, saying Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary […]

ATU Images/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A large new study conducted in Spain and Italy found that beta blockers, drugs often used to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure, did not provide clear benefits for heart attack patients whose hearts were still functioning well. The results of the study, known as REBOOT, were […]

A COVID-19 At-Home Test kit showing positive results. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — COVID-19 cases are ticking up in the U.S. as children head back to school and the country prepares to enter the colder weather months. For the week ending Aug. 9, the COVID hospitalization rate was 1.7 per 100,000, double […]

A sign for the Food And Drug Administration is seen outside of the headquarters on July 20, 2020 in White Oak, Maryland. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expanding its warning about radioactive shrimp, recalling more brands due to possible contamination. The federal health agency said earlier […]

Susan Monarez, nominee to be the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, June 25, 2025 in Washington. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Lawyers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez said Wednesday evening […]

Joe Raedle/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for some Americans. The vaccines were approved for use in adults aged 65 and older and for those between ages 5 and 64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe COVID. This […]

Yersinia pestis, bacteria responsible for the plague, seen under optical microscopy. (Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesP (VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M.) — A New Mexico man has been diagnosed with plague, marking the state’s first human case this year, according to local health officials. The patient, a 43-year-old man from Valencia County — located just southwest of […]

Lidya Elfa Sari via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. has confirmed the first case of a flesh-eating parasite in a human, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Monday. New World screwworm (NWS) is a species of parasitic flies that feed on live tissue. The name refers to the way in […]

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Two U.S. hospitals are the latest to announce they will be ending some, or all, of their pediatric gender-affirming care services at the end of the month. Kaiser Permanente, a health care company that manages 40 hospitals across several states — including California, Oregon and Virginia — said it […]

In this April 24, 2024, file photo, a group of doctors join abortion rights supporters at a rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States to decide if Idaho emergency rooms can provide abortions to pregnant women during […]

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — More than 750 employees across the Department of Health and Human Services sent a signed letter to members of Congress and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday morning, calling on the secretary to stop spreading misinformation. The letter states the deadly shooting that occurred at the Atlanta headquarters […]

Stock image of hospital patient. Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.) — A resident in South Lake Tahoe, California, has tested positive for plague, according to local health officials. The person is believed to have been bitten by an infected flea while camping, officials said. In a separate incident last month, a person in […]

Joe Raedle/Getty Images (ATLANTA) — The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said on Tuesday that children ages 6 months to 23 months should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, in contrast with federal health officials. The recommendations are part of the AAP’s annual childhood immunization schedule, which includes guidance for COVID, flu and RSV vaccines for those […]

In this Feb. 27, 2025, file photo, signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District across from Wigwam Stadium, in Seminole, Texas. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images, FILE (TEXAS) — A measles outbreak in Texas that infected more than 700 people has officially been declared over, state health officials announced on […]

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The draft of an upcoming government report suggesting ways to improve the health of American children does not recommend severe restrictions on pesticides and ultra-processed foods, according to a copy of the document obtained by ABC News. The draft’s language, if left unchanged, would constitute a win for the […]

Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new campaign on Tuesday aimed at tackling mental health and substance use among teens ahead of the upcoming school year. The federal campaign, entitled Free Mind, aims to provide teens and their parents or caregivers with […]

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Senate confirmed Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Monarez was confirmed by a vote of 51-47 along party lines on Tuesday evening. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) were absent. She is the first CDC director […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases in the United States are continuing to rise after breaking a decades-long record just two weeks ago. There are now 1,319 confirmed measles cases across 39 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated Wednesday. This is the highest nationwide measles figure seen since 1992. […]

Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The first oral pill for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could be around the corner after pharmaceutical company Apnimed Inc. reported positive results from its stage III clinical trial. Currently, many people diagnosed with OSA patients require a machine that covers their nose or both the nose […]

Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep or get restful sleep. It affects nearly 15% of American adults each month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says the […]

STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More than 14 million children around the world have not received a single dose of any vaccine, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. This is 4 million more children than the 2024 target set by the WHO and 1.4 million more children than in […]

Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images (Texas) — Central Texas is continuing to recover from one of the deadliest floods in the state’s history, which killed more than 120 people, many of whom were children. While there is an economic toll from floods due to the damage it causes to property, commerce and transportation, there is a risk […]

Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images (Ukraine) — About 70% of children in Ukraine — roughly 3.5 million — do not have access to basic goods and services, such as adequate food or shelter, more than three years into the country’s ongoing war with Russia, according to new data published Thursday from UNICEF. This is a […]

STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Dogs across the U.S. could soon get longer-lasting protection against pesky parasites thanks to a new treatment approved by federal regulators Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to Bravecto Quantum, the first-ever flea and tick preventative that can protect dogs for up to 12 […]

Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — House Democrats on the Oversight Committee are calling for an urgent briefing with staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demanding answers over recent moves that have taken place among the agency’s vaccine advisory panel, ABC News can exclusively report. House Oversight Committee […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases in the United States have reached their highest number in more than 30 years, according to new federal data published Wednesday. There have been 1,288 confirmed measles cases across 38 states nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By comparison, the U.S. recorded 285 cases […]

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images (Texas) — Central Texas is continuing to recover from devastating rains and “catastrophic” flooding that damaged homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people, many of whom were children. Victims and first responders may suffer physical injuries from natural disasters, such as floods, but psychologists and disaster experts say such events […]

STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Emergency rooms across the country are seeing a spike in tick bite cases, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July has already seen the highest number of tick-related ER visits since 2017, with the Northeast region reporting the most cases, the CDC said. […]

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Several major medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday over what they are calling “unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes.” The six groups — including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the […]

DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Wyoming is reporting its first measles case in 15 years as the infectious disease continues to spread across the United States. The state’s Department of Health said on Tuesday that it had confirmed a case in an unvaccinated child in Natrona County, which is located in the central […]

Ezra Acayan/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The State Department is taking over programs previously run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in a move officials say will restructure U.S. foreign assistance and reorient it toward national interests, as a new study finds the cuts could contribute to millions of deaths by 2030. Secretary of […]

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — As Republicans work to pass President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill by his July 4 deadline, many are worried about the changes that could be coming to Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint federal and state health insurance program for disabled and low-income Americans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services works with […]

Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Rising temperatures, amplified by climate change, are contributing to an increase in cases of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. “If temperature keeps rising the way they project it to, the burden and […]

Alyssa Pointer for The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. A few moments before, the Centers for Disease […]

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. One committee member, Vicky Pebsworth, abstained on each vote. A few moments before, the […]

Alyssa Pointer for The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted on Thursday to recommend infants receive a newer monoclonal antibody shot for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 5-2 to recommend clesrovimab, made by Merck, for infants […]

Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images, FILE (OHIO) — Republican lawmakers in Ohio are planning on introducing a bill on Wednesday that would ban almost all abortions and criminalize the procedure. The “Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act” would overturn the amendment to the Ohio constitution, voted on in 2023, that establishes “an individual right to one’s […]

Scott Olson/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Kraft Heinz announced on Tuesday that it would be removing artificial food dyes from its products within the next two years. The company said 10% of its products currently contain FD&C color additives, which are approved for use in food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including brands such […]

ftwitty/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that directives from the Trump administration that led to the cancellations of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were “void” and “illegal.” U.S. District Judge William Young said the cancellation of the grants — related to studies involving […]

Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval of Moderna’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine on Thursday to include adults under the age of 60 at increased risk of the disease. Previously, the vaccine, known as mRESVIA, had been licensed for use for those […]

Joe Raedle/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Prior to becoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had espoused the idea of “medical freedom,” the ability of people to make personal health decisions for themselves and their families without corporate or government coercion. It’s an idea supported under Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) […]

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (PHILADELPHIA) — KJ Muldoon, a 10-month-old baby who sparked nationwide headlines after receiving a first-of-its kind gene-editing treatment, was released from the hospital this week. KJ has spent the majority of his life at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after being diagnosed with a one-in-a-million, deadly genetic disease shortly after birth. Working quickly, […]

Allison Joyce/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration announced on Tuesday it is rescinding Biden-era guidance that uses a federal law to require hospitals to stabilize patients in need of emergency care — including by providing an abortion. In July 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance that, under the Emergency […]

Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images (BAKERSFIELD, CA) — A 4-year-old girl receiving “lifesaving medical treatment” in the United States was granted humanitarian parole for one year, allowing her and her mother to remain in the country, the child’s attorneys announced on Tuesday. The child and her mother, Deysi Vargas, have […]

Natalya Maisheva via Getty Images (MEADE COUNTY, SD) — South Dakota has reported its first case of measles this year. The state is now the 33rd in the country to confirm a measles case, with at least 1,088 cases reported nationally so far this year. An adult who recently traveled outside the country tested positive […]

Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Most counties in the United States have seen a decline in childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates over the last five years, according to a new report published Monday. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University looked at data from 2,066 counties across 33 states between […]

STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, a descendent of the Omicron variant, are on the rise in some parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, there are not enough cases in the United States to register in the Centers for Disease Control and […]

Franklin Jacome/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule for “healthy children and pregnant women” — a move that could alter guidance for doctors as well as some insurance coverage. Kennedy, […]

Spencer Platt/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More than five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the United States, hundreds of people are still dying every week. Last month, an average of about 350 people died each week from COVID, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). […]

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases have reached 1,046 as the virus continues spreading across the United States, according to data updated Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases have been confirmed in 30 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, […]

Kike Rincon/Europa Press via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — In a major policy change, the Food and Drug Administration has announced a plan to limit access to future COVID-19 shots only to people over 65 years old or those with an underlying health condition. This change would apply to any future updated versions of the vaccine, […]

Brandon Bell/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The number of measles cases in the U.S. has risen to 1,024, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday. Cases have been confirmed in 30 states: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, […]

STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images (DADE CITY, Fla) — Florida became the second state in the country after Utah to ban local governments from adding fluoride to their public water systems. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill at Simpson Lakes in Dade City — about 38 miles northeast of Tampa — on Thursday. The law is set to go […]

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, saying, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” […]

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, avoiding sharing his personal views and instead deferring to the doctors running […]

Manusapon Kasosod/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Drug overdose deaths dropped in the United States last year to the lowest levels seen in five years, according to a new federal report published Wednesday morning. The provisional report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found nationwide drug overdose deaths fell […]

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before a House committee Wednesday morning, defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget — all while he is expected to field questions about his history […]

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before a House committee Wednesday morning, defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget — all while he is expected to field questions about his history […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before two congressional committees on Wednesday to discuss, among many topics, the Trump administration’s proposed budget and its impact on HHS. Kennedy will appear before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, […]

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images (MORGANTOWN, WV) — The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reversed the firings of more than 100 federal employees with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the federal institute that helps protect coal miners from black lung, according to Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. […]

Oscar Wong via Getty Images (WEST PALM BEACH, FL) — As human-induced climate change continues warming the planet, pregnancy risks are increasing, according to a new analysis by Climate Central. Climate Central, a nonprofit science and communications organization, analyzed daily temperature data from 2020 to 2024 in 940 cities across 247 counties and territories. Researchers […]

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared photos of himself submerged in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek with his grandchildren, despite longstanding warnings that high bacterial levels make the Potomac River tributary unsafe. “Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson, and a swim […]

( Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced he will be nominating Dr. Casey Means for U.S. surgeon general, replacing his former pick, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, after questions emerged about her credentials. Means has been prominent in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement championed by Health and Human […]

Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Friday additional color additives from natural sources in line with the Department of Health and Human Services’ goal to eliminate artificial food dyes. The agency approved two dyes and expanded approval of a third, meaning it can now be used in a wider […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. has surpassed 1,000 measles cases for the first time in five years, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Friday. A total of 1,001 cases have been confirmed in 30 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, […]

Angelika Warmuth/picture alliance via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Temperatures are beginning to warm up, indicating the arrival of spring — and of allergy season for millions of Americans. Research shows that allergy seasons may be hitting people harder by starting earlier, lasting longer and creating more pollen. Growing seasons — the time of year […]

Kat Cisar and her six-year-old twins, who attend a Milwaukee school that was found to have hazardous lead in the building. (ABC News) (MILWAUKEE) — Kat Cisar, a mother of 6-year-old twins, found out in late February that her kids were potentially being exposed to harmful lead paint and dust at their Milwaukee school. By […]

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Bird flu is continuing to spread in animals across the United States more than a year after the first human case was detected. Since then, at least 70 people have fallen ill and at least one death was recorded in Louisiana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]

(ER Productions Limited/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will require new vaccines to undergo placebo testing, marking what a department spokesperson called “a radical departure from past practices.” The policy change would force vaccines, in order to be approved for human use, to undergo studies in which half […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed 900 as outbreaks continue to spread across the county, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday. A total of 935 cases have been confirmed in 29 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, […]

Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — A case of active tuberculosis has been confirmed at a Florida high school, according to state health officials. The Florida Department of Health in Broward County (DOH-Broward) identified the infected individual, who was recently on campus at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, John J. Sullivan, chief […]

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases are continuing to spread throughout the U.S. with outbreaks in at least six states. Public health experts have previously said lagging vaccination rates are to blame for the rise in cases, at least partly due to vaccine hesitancy and vaccine fatigue left over from […]

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that some people with early-stage cancers may be able to skip surgery after being treated with the immunotherapy drug dostarlimab. In the study, 82 out of 103 participants responded so well to the drug that they no longer […]

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — For John Robinson, a retired coal miner who spent his career in the Virginia mines helping to power America into the 21st century, not a moment passes that he isn’t feeling the full effects of his black lung diagnosis. With the support of a burdensome oxygen […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term have been filled with mass firings, cancellations of research grants, university funding cuts and questions over what should be studied. Thousands of people have been let go at federal agencies and critical research has been put on hold. Additionally, Health […]

Brian B. Bettencourt/Toronto Star via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — New treatments and simple blood tests could change how doctors detect and treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new report from the Alzheimer’s Association. Blood tests to detect Alzheimer’s are not yet approved for everyday use, but in research studies, they have improved the accuracy […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The number of measles cases in the U.S. has risen to 884, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday. Cases have been confirmed in 29 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, […]

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Whooping cough cases are on the rise in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the week ending April 12, at least 8,064 whooping cough cases have been recorded nationwide. This is more than double the 3,835 cases recorded at the same time […]

(Halfdark/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — During a press conference on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a plan to start phasing out eight synthetic food dyes in the American food supply. HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are looking to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings and […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday a series of measures to phase out eight artificial food dyes and colorings from America’s food supply by the end of next year. Speaking at a news conference, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas has now reached 624 cases, with 27 new infections confirmed over the last five days. Nearly all of the cases are among unvaccinated individuals or among those whose vaccination status is unknown, according to new data published by the Texas Department of State Health Services […]

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will move to phase out the remaining eight artificial food dyes from America’s food supply within two years, his department announced Monday, a significant escalation in his fight to rid the country’s food of additives that studies suggest could be harmful. […]

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Preventive care health benefits provided at no cost to tens of millions of Americans since 2010 under a popular provision of the Affordable Care Act are in the balance Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices consider whether the government task force behind the mandate to insurers is […]

Web page for https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-origins-of-covid-19/ on April 18, 2025. Via The White House (WASHINGTON) — The White House has redirected COVID.gov to a new landing page called “Lab Leak: True Origins of COVID-19,” which makes a five-point argument for the theory that COVID-19 originated from a mistaken lab leak in Wuhan, China.  The new site appears […]

Brandon Bell/Getty Images (MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich.) — Michigan is reporting the state’s first measles outbreak since 2019, defined as at least three or more related cases, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Three cases were confirmed in Montcalm County, according to a MDHHS statement. Almost 25% of children under 3 […]

Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Governors in several states have recently announced plans to eliminate some unhealthy foods from their food stamps programs, creating momentum for a key component of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. The governors of Arkansas, Idaho and Indiana on Tuesday […]

Alex Wong/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — On the heels of a new report showing that rates of autism diagnoses have again increased, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was determined to find the “environmental exposures” behind the rise and directed the National Institute of Health to launch new studies into “everything” […]

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas continues to grow, with 561 confirmed cases, according to new data published Tuesday. This is an increase of 20 new cases over the last five days. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination […]

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. has recorded the highest number of measles cases since 2019, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday. There are now 712 confirmed measles cases across 24 states, an increase of 105 cases from the prior week, the CDC said. […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (AUSTIN, TX) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed to imply in recent days that the measles outbreak in western Texas was slowing down. In a post on X on Sunday, Kennedy remarked on the second death linked to the outbreak, which occurred in an unvaccinated school-aged child. […]

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 24 new cases confirmed over the last five days, according to data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department […]

Will Matsuda for The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday he plans to assemble a task force and ultimately change the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to stop recommending adding fluoride. His comments came during a press conference in Utah, […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (LUBBOCK, TEXAS) — A second child in Texas has died of measles, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. “The school-aged child who tested positive for measles was hospitalized in Lubbock and passed away on Thursday from what the child’s doctors described as measles pulmonary failure,” the statement said, in […]

Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Sixteen state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday over its cancellation of research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues the cancellation of the grants is “unlawful” and the attorneys […]

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas has hit 481 cases, with 59 newly identified infections confirmed over the last three days, according to new data published Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, […]

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (NEW YORIK) — About 10,000 people across the United States Department of Health and Human Services were laid off this week as part of a massive restructuring plan. In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the layoffs represented “a difficult moment for all of […]

(boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Researchers who had millions of dollars’ worth of grants terminated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are suing the federal government in the hopes of stopping any further research cancellations. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday evening against the NIH and its director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, as well as […]

Grace Cary/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More cities and counties across the U.S. are moving to ban fluoride in public drinking water after Utah became the first state in the country to do so. The Miami-Dade County commissioners voted 8-2 on Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to the public water supply. Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sponsored the […]

Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The battle over taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood takes center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a dispute over South Carolina’s exclusion of the group from the state Medicaid program because it provides abortions. On the line is the ability of Medicaid beneficiaries to freely choose […]

JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Cutting back on calories three days a week may lead to more weight loss than daily dieting and may be more effective than other types of so-called “intermittent fasting,” a new study suggests. In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers asked participants […]

Kevin Carter/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — One year ago, the first bird flu infection in a human in the United States was reported in a Texas dairy worker, just weeks after the virus had been found in cattle for the first time ever. While the virus has spread in birds for decades, in recent years […]

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (SALT LAKE CITY) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill making the state the first in the nation to ban fluoride in drinking water. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — When the first measles cases were confirmed in western Texas, health officials said the infections primarily affected the Mennonite community. Mennonites, who are part of the Anabaptist Christian church, have a small presence in the United States — and Texas in general — but they have a large presence […]

Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (LANSING, Mich.) — A Michigan resident has died of rabies after apparently undergoing an organ transplant, health officials said. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) told ABC News that the patient underwent an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024. The resident died in January 2025 […]

Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A measles case was confirmed in a person who traveled to Washington, D.C., on an Amtrak train, according to the D.C. Department of Health (DC Health). The person visited multiple locations while contagious, including the southbound Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train and Union Station […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Measles vaccination rates appear to be increasing in some areas of the U.S. that have been affected by outbreaks this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine — the first at ages 12 to […]

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 18 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 327 cases, according to new data published Tuesday. Nearly all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is […]

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 309, with 30 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday. This means the total number of Texas cases linked to the outbreak in roughly two […]

Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As measles cases continue to spread across the United States, many Americans may be asking themselves if they need a measles vaccine booster to enhance protection. An outbreak in western Texas has grown to 279 cases, mostly among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Meanwhile, an […]

Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 20 additional cases confirmed, bringing the total to 279 cases, according to new state data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to […]

Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 20 additional cases confirmed, bringing the total to 279 cases, according to new state data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to […]

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Find Your Light Foundation (WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) appears to have taken down a webpage from the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) that included an advisory on gun violence. In June 2024, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory declaring gun violence to […]

Nathan Morris/NurPhoto via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Transgender adults who received gender-affirming hormone therapy had a significantly lower risk of moderate-to-severe depression over four years compared to those who did not receive such care, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study tracked 3,592 transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse adults and […]

(Phil Fisk/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Dr. Kimberly Shriner remembers the first COVID-19 patient who came into Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California, in March 2020. He was a 35-year-old man who arrived at the hospital short of breath. “He went straight to our intensive care unit. We were very suspicious that he had COVID,” Shriner, […]

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (GAINES COUNTY, Texas) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 259, with 36 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals […]

Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for stronger, nationwide guidance on infant vaccine doses for measles prevention in a new opinion paper published Friday. In the face of a growing measles outbreak — with more than 200 cases confirmed […]

(DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Measles is continuing to spread across the United States, as outbreaks grow in western Texas and New Mexico. Between the two states, 256 cases have been confirmed as of Thursday, mostly in those who are unvaccinated or with unknown vaccination status, according to state health officials. At least one […]

Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images (LONDON) — Europe saw the highest number of measles cases last year in more than 25 years, according to a new report published Thursday from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. There were an estimated 127,350 measles cases in the European region last year, which is double the number of cases […]

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 25 cases confirmed over the last five days, bringing the total to 223 cases, according to new data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is […]

TPG/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Five years ago, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic, leading to stay at-home orders and shutdowns across the U.S. and world. The nation looks much different since then, and scientists and researchers have learned a lot about the virus, including how it infects people, the […]

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Tuesday marks five years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak of COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Since then, millions of Americans have been hospitalized, and more than 1.2 million people have died. Additionally, millions of adults and children are still feeling the effects of their illness […]

Jessica McGowan/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a survey on March 6 asking some federally funded researchers to assess how their work aligns with the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to documents obtained by ABC News. CDC-funded researchers were asked whether their research would help combat “Christian […]

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images (GAINES COUNTY, Texas) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 198, with 40 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals […]

Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images (TEXAS) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 — an increase of 13 cases in the past five days, authorities said on Tuesday. The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website with the new numbers Tuesday afternoon and said the majority […]

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring an unknown disease that has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency said in a statement on Monday. “CDC is monitoring the situation closely and engaging with DRC officials on what support the agency can […]

Measles virus particle, illustration. (Photo by KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Via Getty) (NEW YORK) — Measles has been spreading across the U.S. for the last several weeks, sickening people in at least nine states amid a growing outbreak in western Texas. Several people have been hospitalized and at least one unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has […]

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images (GAINES COUNTY, Texas) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 146, according to new data released Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, with 79 unvaccinated and 62 of unknown status. […]

(DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — More measles cases are being confirmed across the United States as health officials work to treat patients in an ongoing outbreak in Texas. The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and the Franklin County Health Department announced on Wednesday a confirmed case of measles in an adult resident, […]

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — In his first public comments on the measles outbreak hitting West Texas and New Mexico, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic whose first steps in combatting the outbreak will be closely watched, said his department was monitoring the situation daily but […]

Natalya Maisheva via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Before there was a vaccine in 1963, measles infected millions and killed hundreds of people in the U.S. every year. Now, with the first measles death occurring in over a decade, doctors warn that declining vaccination rates are bringing the disease back, putting more people — especially […]

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Some major medical associations are pushing back against the Department of Health and Human Services’ updated definitions of biological sex in federal policy in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order. HHS issued new guidance on Feb. 19 where it said it “recognizes there are only two sexes: male and female,” adding: […]

A general view of the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 28, 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland. (Harold Cunningham/Getty Images) (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) — At least 60 people have died and over 1,000 more have been sickened by a deadly “unknown disease” spreading in a region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health […]

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More measles cases are being confirmed across the United States as health officials work to treat patients in an ongoing outbreak in Texas. The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and the Franklin County Health Department announced on Wednesday a confirmed case of measles in an adult resident, the […]

Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Longer periods of extreme heat has been found to accelerate biological age in older adults by up to two years, according to new research. More heat days over time correlated with deterioration at the molecular and cellular level in adults 56 years or older, likely because the […]

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people. Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday. In a press release, the Texas […]

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people. Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday. In a press release, the Texas […]

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people. Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday. In a press […]

A general view of the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 28, 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland. (Harold Cunningham/Getty Images) (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) — The World Health Organization has reported that there is a deadly “unknown disease” spreading in one region within the Democratic Republic of Congo. Local health officials in Congo are partnering with […]

Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday that the new coronavirus found in bats is currently not a cause for concern. There is no reason to believe the virus poses a threat to public health at the moment and no infections have been […]

(PonyWang/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Flu activity remains “elevated” in the United States but is starting to show signs of abating, according to new federal data published Friday. The 2024-25 flu season was classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a “high” severity season overall and for all age groups, making […]

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (AUSTIN, Texas) — The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 90, according to new data released on Friday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 16 people have been hospitalized so […]

ER Productions Limited/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A personalized mRNA vaccine may reduce the risks of pancreatic cancer returning after surgery, according to a preliminary study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers, with a typical survival rate of only about a year after the diagnosis according […]

Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — New research shows the far-reaching effects of the abortion bans that have proliferated the United States since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Three new studies have provided some of the first nationwide data on the effects of those bans in the states where […]

(ATU Images/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — During his confirmation hearings two weeks ago to lead the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated several unfounded claims about autism. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has made money through books, speeches and lawsuits while sharing vaccine skepticism, refused to say that vaccines don’t […]

Photo by Roberto Pfeil/picture alliance via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Semaglutide, a medication widely used for diabetes and weight loss, may offer another unexpected benefit — it could help people drink less alcohol. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry enrolled 48 adults between ages 21 and 65 who had been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder but […]

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Measles cases are rising in the U.S. with infections confirmed in at least five states so far this year. Cases have been reported in Alaska, Georgia, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas, mostly among individuals not vaccinated for measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In […]

Scott J. Ferrell/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The federal government has drastically lowered some of the funding that universities and research institutions receive from medical and scientific grants. News of the cuts rattled the scientific community with many scientific institutions set to lose millions of dollars in funding annually. The National Institutes […]

In this undated stock photo, signage for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is shown. (STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Stock) (WASHINGTON) — Medical groups are expressing deep concern about the sudden removal or alteration of government data sets and webpages from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration […]

Guido Meith/Getty (NEW YORK) — Outpatient health care visits for flu illnesses are at their highest levels in 15 years, according to data updated Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 8% of outpatient health care visits for respiratory illnesses are due to flu-like illness, which is the highest seen since the 2009-10 flu […]

Herd of cows eating hay in a dairy farm. (STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Stock) (NEW YORK) — A second type of bird flu has been found in dairy cows for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday. Until recently, all dairy herd detections in the U.S. had involved a form of bird flu, […]

Apu Gomes/Getty Images (LOS ANGELES) — The percentage of emergency department (ED) visits related to fire and smoke inhalation rose dramatically in the days immediately after the Los Angeles wildfires last month, new data published Thursday shows. The wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades and in Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7. Although several destructive […]

Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More than 1 million children may have been affected by long COVID in 2023, new federal data published Monday suggests. Long COVID, a condition that occurs when patients still have symptoms at least three months after clearing infection, has been well-documented in adults, but its impact on children has been less […]

Jessica McGowan/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Government agency webpages about HIV, LGBTQ+ people and multiple other public health topics were down as of Friday evening due to President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion. Some of the terms being flagged for removal include pregnant people, chestfeeding, diversity, DEI and […]

UIG via Getty Images, FILE (NEW YORK) — Friday marks five years since the COVID-19 virus was declared a public health emergency by the United States. But five years later, the virus is still killing thousands, according to experts. “One of the things we have learned is that COVID came to us new, and now is integrated […]

Henry Callander says his forehead blew up like “a giant bee sting” after a Botox treatment. Via ABC News. (NEW YORK) — JGL Aesthetics’ Instagram profile promised its clients radiant skin, friendly service and a machine they said could give people toned abs. However, some clients allege that the New York medical spa’s owner injected […]

Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved a new type of prescription pain medication for adults to treat moderate to severe acute pain. The drug, called Journavx (suzetrigine) and manufactured by biotech company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is a non-opioid painkiller, which doesn’t have addictive properties, unlike opioids […]

Vladimir Vladimirov/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — When the White House budget office released a memo this week that instructed all federal agencies to cease spending on any financial assistance programs pending internal review, the fate of the nation’s largest public health insurance program was propelled into question. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that […]

KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Kansas is facing the largest recorded tuberculosis outbreak in U.S. history, according to local health officials. As of Jan. 24, there have been 67 confirmed cases of active TB including 60 in Wyandotte County and seven in Johnson County, according to the Kanas Department of Health and […]

ATU Images/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, according to a new report. The American Heart Association (AHA) report, published Monday in the journal Circulation, found that 941,652 Americans died from cardiovascular disease in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. That’s an increase of […]

Beauty influencer Ashley Stobart discusses how she got a facelift after removing fillers from her face/ABC News (NEW YORK) — Celebrities are increasingly opening up about reversing cosmetic procedures and swearing off dermal fillers, but some have discovered it can come with unexpected consequences. “Friends” actress Courteney Cox spoke about removing her fillers on the […]

Purdue Pharma headquarters; Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The company and once-prominent family behind the drug OxyContin agreed Thursday to increase their financial contribution to resolve mass opioid litigation. The Sacklers and Purdue Pharma boosted their settlement contribution to $7.4 billion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prior settlement in June […]

Evgenia Matveeva/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, alongside other influenza vaccines, health officials announced Friday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a press release that the funding will […]

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images (SAN FRANCISCO) — A child in San Francisco was recently confirmed to be the third human case of bird flu in the United States in which it’s unclear how the person got infected. Cases have been spreading across the country since April 2024 with 67 confirmed as of Thursday, according to the Centers […]

fstop123/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Women are now being diagnosed with cancer more often than men in certain age groups, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. Among adults aged 50-64, cancer rates are slightly higher in women, and women under 50 are almost twice as likely as men in the same […]

Canned cherries made with red dye #3/Photo credit: Linnea Bullion For The Washington Post via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is moving to ban the use of Red No. 3 dye in food products. The agency said Wednesday it is amending its color additive regulations to no longer allow the […]

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images (LOS ANGELES) — Health care centers and medical facilities remain closed as the devastating California wildfires spread. At least 24 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as of Monday morning. Additionally, 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another […]

Apu Gomes/Getty Images (LOS ANGELES) — As devastating wildfires continue to spread across southern California, thousands of structures have been destroyed or damaged and at least five people have been killed. Residents and firefighters have suffered physical injuries, but doctors say the wildfires can also take a heavy mental health toll on civilians and first responders. “I […]

Marko Geber/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Meta — the company that operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp –announced on Tuesday it was ending third-party fact-checking. Some social media policy experts and public health experts are worried that the end of fact-checking could lead to the spread of medical and science misinformation and disinformation. This is […]

Human Bird Flu Cases in the U.S. as of January 6, 2025. Image by ABC News. Data via CDC. (NEW YORK) — In the nearly nine months since the first human case of bird flu was detected in the United States, the virus has continued to spread. The outbreak infected hundreds of herds and millions […]

Roger Harris/Getty Images (CHINA) — Chinese health officials are reportedly monitoring an increase in cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV). There is currently no evidence that the outbreak is out of the ordinary or that a new respiratory virus or illness has emerged in China. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) said data from […]

Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images (LOUISIANA) — The first person has died of bird flu in the United States, the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed on Monday. The patient, who was exposed to non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds, was over age 65 and had underlying medical conditions, officials said. Last month, the Centers […]

(istetiana/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — The Mediterranean diet — which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains — has once again topped U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of best diets. The publication on Friday named the diet the best overall diet for the eighth year in a row. The Mediterranean diet scored […]

Westend61/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on Friday warning of a link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, according to the Surgeon General’s advisory. For some cancers, including breast, mouth, and […]

Makoto Honda/500px/Getty Images (NEW YORK) —  If you’re feeling hungover from New Year’s Eve champagne or had one too many boozy eggnogs over the holidays, let January be a fresh start. Taking the challenge of going dry in January, or Dry January, i.e. having no alcohol for the entire month, is one resolution that might […]

Al Drago/CQ Roll Call (NEW YORK) — Federal health officials have begun collecting samples of aged raw cow’s milk cheese across the U.S. to test for bird flu, the Food and Drug Administration announced. Sample collection started at the end of this month and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2025, the […]

Hum Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As world leaders mourn the death of former President Jimmy Carter and remark on his political and policy legacy, doctors are remembering his efforts to prevent disease, and his legacy in furthering global public health. The 39th president spent five decades working to eradicate a […]

Sdi Productions/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Respiratory illness activity – a measure of how often conditions like the common cold, flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus are diagnosed – is currently “high” in the United States, according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, New Hampshire is listed as having […]

CDC NoroSTAT (NEW YORK) — Cases of norovirus appear to be on the rise in various parts of the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 90 norovirus outbreaks were reported during the week of Dec. 5, the most recent week for which data is available, according to the […]

Sorrasak Jar Tinyo/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Three states — Louisiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire — are reporting high levels of respiratory illness, including common cold, flu, RSV and COVID, according to the CDC. In addition, children under four are currently experiencing the highest levels of RSV hospitalizations. Dr. Neil C. Bhavsar, an emergency medicine […]

CDC and NIAID Los Angeles County health officials reported the first human case of bird flu in the area less than a week after a statewide emergency declaration was announced. In a statement released on Monday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said the human case of H5 bird flu was detected in an […]

The Good Brigade/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — From a pig kidney transplant to restoring genetic deafness, 2024 was a year full of medical breakthroughs. The breakthroughs include the discovery of a cause of an autoimmune disease, the development of a “game-changing” drug and potential hope for those experiencing end-stage organ failure. Here are five of […]

Scott Olson/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The FDA has expanded the approval of Eli Lilly’s obesity medication Zepbound to include treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea for people with obesity — the first medication approved for the condition. The new, expanded Zepbound approval means that insurance providers, including Medicare, will likely cover the medication […]

Jessie Owen was left paralyzed nearly 12 years ago when a tree fell on a car in which she was a passenger. Via ABC News. (NEW YORK) — Nearly 12 years ago, Jessie Owen’s life changed forever. “My family was going over a mountain pass and a tree fell on our car. In that moment, […]

pawel.gaul/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A deadly, undiagnosed disease that has been spreading in one region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may be linked to malaria, health officials said Thursday. As of Dec. 14, the latest date for which data is available, 592 cases have been reported with 37 confirmed deaths and 44 […]

(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first case of severe bird flu in the United States. The federal health agency said Wednesday that the patient has been hospitalized in Louisiana. No identifying details about the patient were made available. Genomic data showed the Louisiana patient was infected with a […]

Stevica Mrdja /EyeEm/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Authorities are looking into online accounts believed to be those of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, that have posted about health struggles and possible medical successes. Mangione appeared to operate […]

krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images (MARIN COUNTY, Calif.) — Health officials in Marin County, California say a child with a suspected bird flu infection drank raw milk before getting sick. “[Marin County Public Health] is reporting a suspected case of bird flu in a child who experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk,” according to a statement. […]

Noam Galai/Getty Image (NEW YORK) — The rates of late-stage breast cancer at diagnosis have risen among women in all racial and ethnic groups, but Black women have been hit the hardest, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. The study, which looked at data from 2004 to 2021, found that advanced breast cancer rates […]

Derek Crowe, a spokesman for the nonprofit People’s Action Institute, speaks with ABC News. (ABC News) (NEW YORK) — Fury, anger and resentment toward the health care industry have exploded in the public rhetoric in the wake of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing and one activist said that “volcanic” eruption of emotion has been boiling […]

Natalie Behring/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Raw samples nationwide will now be collected and shared with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in order to test for bird flu, according to a new federal order issued by the agency on Friday. The new federal order by the USDA includes three new requirements. Raw milk samples […]

LW, who asked not to show her face, is a 16-year-old transgender teenager challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical treatments that have improved her quality of life. (ABC News) (WASHINGTON) — Medical treatments for transgender children, endorsed by major American medical associations and safely used for decades, hang in the balance at the U.S. Supreme […]

GMA (NEW YORK) — A growing number of people under 50 are being diagnosed with more advanced stages of colon cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The 2020 death of 43-year-old actor Chadwick Boseman due to colon cancer drew attention to the shift, and “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, 47, announced his […]

Ekaterina Goncharova/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Cases of flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are ticking up across the United States even as overall respiratory virus activity remains low. Flu activity is increasing slightly among children while RSV activity is elevated in the southern, central and eastern U.S., according to data updated Monday from the Centers […]

Matt Cardy/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders was declared over on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In total, 104 people reported falling ill across 14 states with about one-third of them being hospitalized, according to the CDC. The true number of people who got […]

Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — With e-cigarettes and flavored vapes booming in popularity, the Supreme Court on Monday will examine whether the Food and Drug Administration unlawfully blocked the marketing and sale of more than a million new sweet and candy-flavored nicotine products in recent years. The case comes as kid-friendly […]

After more than two years of gender-affirming treatments, LW, the Tennessee teenager behind a landmark case at the U.S. Supreme Court, says, “I feel normal now.” (ABC News) (NASHVILLE) — The transgender Tennessee teenager behind a historic hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court this week doesn’t want to show her face on television but is […]

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump is nominating a critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies to serve as the head of the National Institutes of Health. In a statement, Trump said he has picked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as NIH director to work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy […]

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Named to lead the nation’s sprawling Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has big ideas for busting public health policy norms. His Senate confirmation hearings — should they happen — will come with lots of questions about what Kennedy’s ideas would look like in practice. His […]

Pierre Crom/Getty Images (FRESNO, CA) — After bird flu was detected in a retail sample of raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC, the California Department of Public Health warned consumers on Sunday to avoid consuming any from the same lot. At the state’s request, the Fresno County-based company also issued a voluntary […]

Three influenza A (H5N1/bird flu) virus particles (rod-shaped). Note: Layout incorporates two CDC transmission electron micrographs that have been inverted, repositioned, and colorized by NIAID. Scale has been modified. Image via CDC and NIAID. (NEW YORK) — As seasonal influenza ramps up, and with bird flu continuing to circulate, some public health experts are worried […]

PhotoAlto/Ale Ventura/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Some hospitals in the U.S. are seeing an increase in RSV and higher levels of “walking pneumonia” among young children despite overall respiratory illness activity remaining low nationally. Cook Children’s Medical Centers in Texas reported a “steep increase” in children visiting the emergency room due to respiratory-related illnesses. On […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Евгения Матвеец/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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Isabel Pavia/Getty Images The 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

Photo Illustration by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images (BATTLE CREEK, Mich.) Hundreds of people gathered outside the WK Kellogg headquarters in Michigan on Tuesday calling for the company to hold up its promise to remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals sold in the U.S. Nearly 10 years ago, Kellogg’s, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, committed to removing such […]

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, […]

 Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) — Nicole Hallingstad credits her cat, Rudy, with finding her breast cancer. Despite an unremarkable mammogram screening just seven months earlier, the 42-year-old knew something was wrong when Rudy kept pawing at something on the right side of her chest. Hallingstad had another mammogram, which this time […]

Massimiliano Finzi/Getty Images/STOCK (NEW YORK) — People who were diagnosed with severe COVID-19 infections from the first wave of the pandemic could face double the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study has found. The study, published this week in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology and supported by the National Institutes […]

Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images (ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.) — Residents of St. Petersburg — on Florida’s central-west coast — were temporarily left without clean drinking water after a water main break occurred during Hurricane Milton. City officials said the break caused them to shut off potable water services at 12 a.m. ET on Thursday until […]

Healgen (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter combination COVID-19 and flu test outside of emergency use on Monday evening. This means the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test is available without a prescription. The FDA said the test is for those who are experiencing respiratory symptoms. While there […]

Jason Marz/Getty Images (ATLANTA) — The Georgia state Supreme Court reinstated the state’s six-week abortion ban on Monday after a lower court allowed abortions to resume in the state. The ruling goes into effect at 5 p.m. ET and will remain in place while the court hears the state’s appeal, which was filed by Christopher […]

Isaac Lane Koval/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Dr. Lisa Newman, the chief of the section of breast surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, sat down with ABC News to discuss breast cancer prevention, early screenings and diagnosis discrepancies. A new American Cancer Society report, released in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, finds […]

Getty Images – STOCK/David Sacks (DURHAM, N.C.) — As hospitals and health care facilities work to get back up and running after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend, affecting several states, the medical supply chain could be at risk. Baxter International, a health care and medical technology company, announced this week that it must […]

Feldhaar Christian / EyeEm/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — North Carolina became the latest state to have a public health emergency declared by U.S. health officials in response to Hurricane Helene. In a press release on Sunday evening, the Department of Health and Human Services said its Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) was moving […]

Isaac Lane Koval/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Breast cancer deaths have fallen by 44% compared to 35 years ago, saving nearly 520,000 lives, according to a new report by the American Cancer Society. The dramatic decrease is a major milestone in the fight against breast cancer, according to Dr. Lisa Newman, a co-author of the […]

pablohart/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state is suing a hospital in Eureka for allegedly refusing emergency abortion care to women whose lives are in danger. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Humboldt County Superior Court, alleges Providence St. Joseph Hospital violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The number of kids dying from influenza in the 2023-2024 season has set a new record for a regular flu season, after one new death was reported last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There were 200 pediatric flu-related deaths in the 2023-2024 season, […]

CDC While the United States has made considerable progress fighting the HIV/AIDS crisis since its peak in the 1980s, headway has not been equal among racial/ethnic groups. Overall, HIV rates have declined in the U.S. and the number of new infections over the last five years has dropped among Black Americans and white Americans. However, […]

Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images, FILE (SILVER SPRING, Md.) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved the first new drug to treat people with schizophrenia in more than 30 years. Cobenfy, manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb, combines two drugs, xanomeline and trospium chloride, and is taken as a twice-daily pill. In clinical trials, […]

CDC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY (NEW YORK) — A rise in rates of sudden unexpected infant deaths may have been linked to an off-season surge of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 2021, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Open Network. Sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) includes deaths of infants under one year […]

SONGPHOL THESAKIT/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Americans can once again order free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government starting Thursday ahead of the upcoming respiratory virus season. This is the third year in a row the Biden-Harris administration has allowed Americans to order over-the-counter tests at no charge. Anyone wanting to order tests can […]

Leah Hope (NEW YORK) — A woman who lost over 200 pounds said she accomplished it by focusing not on the weight she was losing, but the life she was gaining. “I wanted to gain life more than I wanted to lose weight,” Leah Hope told ABC News’ Good Morning America of her motivation, adding, […]

Courtesy of Dr. Meghan Martin (NEW YORK) — With autumn in full swing, flu season is ramping up as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu season in the U.S. typically picks up in the fall and winter months and children, especially, are the most likely to get sick from influenza, […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The journey to get pregnant can be a long road for many women, some of whom are sharing that they found unlikely help from an over-the-counter cough and cold medicine. The hashtag #mucinexdpregnancy has over 1,500 posts on TikTok from women claiming the medication Mucinex helped them get pregnant. […]

bymuratdeniz/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The prevalence of obesity among adults has slightly decreased in the United States but remains higher than 10 years ago, new federal data shows. Among adults aged 20 and older, about 40.3% were estimated to be obese between August 2021 and August 2023, according to a report released early Tuesday […]

FDA.Gov (NEW YORK) — Lactaid milk is being recalled due to the potential presence of almonds, a common tree nut allergen. The Food and Drug Administration and HP Hood LLC announced the voluntary recall Sept. 20. HP Hood said it discovered the potential almond contamination following a “routine maintenance” review but also said they have […]

mrs/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The first person in New York state to be diagnosed with eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in nearly a decade has died, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced Monday. The case was confirmed on Sept. 20 in Ulster County — located along the Hudson River — by the state Department of Health. […]

Jon Cherry/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — New York state reported its first case of eastern equine encephalitis in nearly a decade on Friday. The rare mosquito-borne virus was detected in Ulster County, the New York State Department of Health said. The individual is hospitalized, it said. The Ulster County Department of Health is currently investigating […]

Halfpoint Images/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — While body mass index (BMI) has long been a go-to measure of a person’s health, used by doctors and health insurers alike, a new approach is taking hold. Body roundness index, or BRI, is gaining prominence as a way of predicting one’s health risk by taking into account more […]

In this Jan. 25, 2024, file photo, a used Narcan brand Naloxone nasal spray rests on the street after paramedics and police responded to a suspected fentanyl drug overdose in Portland, Oregon. — Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images, FILE (ATLANTA) — The estimated number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have been dropping […]

Isaac Lane Koval/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Newer three-dimensional imaging is more effective at detecting breast cancer and may improve long-term outcomes, according to a new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine. The study, which analyzed more than 272,000 breast cancer screenings over 13 years, showed that 3D mammography, known as […]

Gerard Rivest/500px/Getty Images (LOS ANGELES) — While Los Angeles County is reporting three locally acquired cases of dengue this year — which is rare for the region — there have been at least 3,085 cases nationally of locally acquired virus so far this year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]

Courtesy Ryley Hopper (NEW YORK) — A man who was left paralyzed after diving into a swimming pool as a teenager was recently able to drive again for the first time, eight years after his injury. Ryley Hopper, 27, got behind the wheel of a specially equipped van on Aug. 14, his first time driving […]

Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images (TEL-AVIV, Israel) — The last day of the polio vaccination campaign is wrapping up in Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday. The campaign was launched after the first case of polio in Gaza in more than 25 years was recently detected. Health officials from the WHO, the Hamas-run […]

LWA/Dann Tardif/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A new report by March of Dimes found that over 5.5 million women live in U.S. counties experiencing limited to no access to maternity care resources that include hospitals or birthing centers, obstetric care or obstetricians. The report is the latest by the maternity care-centric nonprofit to highlight a […]

Emilija Manevska/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Elevated levels of lead have been found in 12 of 36 ground cinnamon products and spice blends, according to a Consumer Reports article published Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not set lead-level thresholds for spices, but three of the products exceeded a proposed cutoff set by […]

Win McNamee/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Health care was one of the topics at the forefront of Tuesday night’s debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump said he was interested in replacing the Affordable Care Act — also known as “Obamacare” — but implied that he didn’t have any specific plans […]

Yulia Naumenko/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A recall on apple juice due to potentially harmful levels of arsenic has expanded to include more brands sold at several additional retailers across the country. The initial voluntary recall by Refresco Beverages was first announced in a class 2 enforcement report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]

Massimiliano Finzi/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo began his public testimony before Congress on Tuesday by defending his administration’s nursing home policies during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing, before the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, addressed Cuomo’s decision to allow COVID-19-positive […]

Massimiliano Finzi/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to publicly testify Tuesday before Congress on his administration’s nursing home policies during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing, before the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, will see Cuomo defend his decision to […]

FDA (NEW YORK) — A poultry farm in Wisconsin has recalled all of its eggs distributed in three states that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked to dozens of sicknesses as part of a Salmonella outbreak across nine states. Details of multi-state salmonella outbreak, egg recall Milo’s Poultry Farms LLC issued […]

Trevor Williams/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Millions of American seniors are having a hard time affording their prescription medications, a new National Health Statistics report suggests. The study, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that approximately 4% of those aged 65 and older can’t afford their prescription at all, and more […]

ATU Images/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As two NASA astronauts gear up for a months-long unplanned stay on the International Space Station (ISS), they may also be increasing their risk of radiation exposure. Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, who performed the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner, took off on June 5 […]

mrs/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — As mosquito season continues, public health officials in the U.S. have been tracking several different illnesses caused by the pesky flying insect. Health officials are reporting at least eighteen deaths from West Nile virus in the U.S. this year, with three recent deaths recorded in Wisconsin and Illinois. There have […]

Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images (LONDON) — A mass polio vaccination campaign is underway in Gaza to inoculate children after the first case in 25 years was recently detected in the strip. Several organizations — including the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for […]

mrs/Getty Images (MADISON, Wis.) — Health officials are warning of the dangers of mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus after three recent deaths were recorded across Wisconsin and Illinois. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) confirmed on Thursday that two people have died and another was hospitalized due to the effects of the virus. […]

Sara Anne Willette and her family plan on moving to the countryside in the South as COVID-19 continues to impact the immunocompromised community. — Courtesy of Sara Anne Willette (NEW YORK) — Sara Anne Willette has spent more than 1,620 days in isolation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Jersey resident took […]

mrs/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Health officials are warning Americans about a rare insect-borne virus that has infected several travelers. As of Aug. 16, there have been 21 cases of Oropouche virus disease, sometimes called “sloth fever,” detected among U.S. travelers returning from Cuba, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The […]

xijian/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The U.S. surgeon general is calling for a “fundamental shift” in how the mental health and well-being of parents is supported and prioritized. In a health advisory released Wednesday, Dr. Vivek Murthy, himself a father of two, said parents and caregivers are struggling amid a youth mental health crisis, financial […]