The World Health Organization is meeting Thursday to consider whether to classify the ongoing monkeypox outbreak as a "global emergency."
Driving the news: There have been more than 3,200 confirmed cases of monkeypox and one death in the last six weeks, the WHO said Thursday. The outbreak has touched 48 countries.
Driving the news: The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it will order Juul to remove its e-cigarettes out of the U.S. market, taking away an e-cigarette option for millions of smokers.
As the Supreme Court considers potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion rights activists are heralding abortion pills as a potential option in places where clinics may have to close — but several red states are already cracking down on the pills.
The big picture: Almost half of U.S. states have banned or tightly restricted abortion pills — two medicines named mifepristone and misoprostol — and more could soon follow suit.
Female scientists are less likely to be cited for their work in journal articles than their male peers, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
Why it matters: There is already a "well-documented gap" in published research between male and female researchers which only worsened during the pandemic.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced it will order top-seller Juul to take its e-cigarettes off the shelves in the U.S. market.
Why it matters: The move comes amid a push to cap nicotine in cigarettes and signals the Biden administration is escalating its attempt to limit tobacco use in the U.S., Axios' Arielle Dreher reports.
A Senate deal to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for individuals with private insurance and Medicare poses a new test of whether Democrats can make good on campaign pledges to rein in drug costs.
Why it matters: With most of President Biden’s health agenda still stalled in Congress, the plan unveiled on Wednesday could be a politically appealing way to limit out-of-pocket costs for more than 37 million Americans with diabetes.
The Food and Drug Administration is poised to sweep Juul e-cigarette products off store shelves, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, in what could be a major turning point for an agency that's taken a sluggish, at times disjointed approach to regulating the vaping industry.
Why it matters: The move, coming amid a push to cap nicotine in cigarettes, may signal the Biden administration is ready to try to put tobacco use behind us.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday that it has begun shipping monkeypox tests to five commercial laboratory companies in a bid to boost access to testing for the disease.
Why it matters: A lack of testing has kept public health officials in the dark about the scope of the outbreak in the U.S.
Britain's polio-free status may be in jeopardy for the first time in nearly 20 years as several samples of the polio virus were found during recent London sewage testing, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The discovery means it's likely there has been some spread of a "vaccine-derived" polio virus between close contacts in London, the agency said. The last case of wild polio in the U.K. was confirmed in 1984 and the country has remained polio-free since 2003.
Top Trump administration officials ignored warnings and embraced a "herd immunity via mass infection" approach to containing COVID-19 to justify not taking meaningful action to curb the virus in the fall and winter of 2020-2021, a House oversight panel report concluded Tuesday.
Why it matters: The U.S. missed the boat on the kind of swift, early response that would have been most effective, according to many health experts, leading more Americans to die from November 2020 through February 2021 than during any other corresponding period throughout the pandemic.
Parents can now schedule appointments for COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 at doctors' offices and major retailers including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, Costco, Kroger and more.
Why it matters: Following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky's signing off on allowing Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 shots for children as young as 6 months old, the shots are becoming available nationwide to the youngest Americans, Axios' Tina Reed reports.
The Biden administration wants to make the tobacco industry cut back the amount of nicotine in cigarettes sold in the U.S. to non-addictive levels.
Why it matters: The bid to essentially take the buzz out of smoking cigarettes would be unprecedented in the long-running public health fight to curb tobacco use, which the FDA says leads to more than 480,000 deaths a year.
When we wrote on the virtues of coffee, we heard from dozens of tea-drinking readers who wondered if their beverage of choice came with health perks too.
Why it matters: It turns out tea — all types of it — is great for you, with benefits that touch everything from your brain to your gut to your immune system.
Your brain: L-theanine, which is found in green tea and oolong tea, has been linked to lower a risk of developing cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Chamomile tea is an effective natural enemy of anxiety.
Your immune system: White tea is chock-full of antioxidants that have been linked to lower cancer risk. Black tea has all-around immune benefits too.
Your teeth: White tea also has fluoride for your dental health — but black tea can stain your teeth.
Your gut: Hibiscus tea can curb cravings. Peppermint tea fights irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. And rooibos tea can boost your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol, the University of Pennsylvania's medical school notes.
And the perks don't come from drinking alone. You can press steamed and cooled black tea on your cuts and bruises to reduce swelling and relieve pain, per UPenn.
But, but, but: Just like with coffee, watch how you drink tea. Adding cream and sugar and syrups to make tea lattes can wipe away the natural benefits — and add tons of calories.
And don't fall for the slew of "detox" or "weight loss" teas that are peddled on Instagram and Facebook.
The bottom line: Whether you start your day with coffee or tea, drink up and reap the benefits.
