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New vaccines for COVID-19, flu, RSV expected to curb ever-mutating respiratory viruses
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Americans will have access to several vaccines this fall to protect them against respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but effectively deploying them is expected to be challenging and confusing. With the latest major mutation of the COVID-19 virus, “We have to have a lot of humility .…
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Sixteen of Kentucky’s 72 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, and 10 of them are at immediate risk
BY AL CROSS KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Sixteen of Kentucky’s 72 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, and 10 of those are at immediate risk of closing, according to the latest analysis of hospitals’ Medicare cost reports by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, an advocacy group. The report doesn’t name the 16…
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Study finds eating ultra-processed foods boosts calories and weight
Manufacturers say they make food more affordable KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS “Would you eat food that’s been pre-digested?” That’s how The Washington Post opened a story that digs deep into how industrial processing changes the structure of food in such a way that it is essentially like eating predigested food. And this, experts say, affects how…
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Study says allergy to red meat is under-diagnosed, probably due to clinicians’ limited knowledge of it, and Kentucky is a national hotspot
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Thousands of Kentuckians are likely living with an allergy to red meat, and many of them probably don’t know it because it hasn’t been diagnosed in them, a new study suggests. Another study says most of the people who do the diagnoses — health-care providers — have little or no working knowledge…
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Ticks can’t jump, but static electricity can throw them onto hosts
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS One more thing to know as you work to guard against the influx of ticks in Kentucky this year: Static electricity that is naturally produced by humans and other animals can cause a tick to be pulled onto them, a new study shows. “Until now, we had no idea…
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Kentucky has an uptick in ticks, and people are getting ticked off
UK entomologist says state seems to be ‘becoming Kenticky’ BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS A warmer February in Kentucky has likely contributed to an uptick in ticks, and Kentuckians aren’t happy about it. Some even sound ticked off. “We just had the seventh hottest February on record, so some of our [tick] species are…
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More youth received emergency care for self-harm in 2021 than in 2020, reversing decline in youths’ intentional injuries
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Fewer young people in Kentucky got emergency care in the first year of the pandemic for intentional injuries, but in the second year, the number rose, mainly due to a 15% increase in cases where youth, mostly girls, harmed themselves. That’s according to a report from the Kentucky Injury…
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National public-health emergency for COVID-19 ends Thursday
Experts warn that another Omicron-like outbreak is still possible KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, and the U.S. public health emergency ends May 11, but the pandemic is not over and the disease remains a threat, the World Health Organization said Friday. Experts recently warned the White House that “There’s…
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FDA approves first-ever RSV vaccine for people 60 and older
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS People 60 and older now have access to the first approved vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus. The vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is called Arexvy and was approved May 3 by the Food and Drug Administration. “Today’s approval of the first RSV vaccine is an important public-health achievement to prevent…
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Sneezing? Sniffling? Climate change means U.S. allergy seasons last a month longer than in 1990 and have 21% more pollen
BY LAUREL SWANZ KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS With allergy season in full swing in Kentucky, those suffering from nasal allergies and asthma may feel as though the pollen gets worse every year. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says there is some truth to this – and climate change, which is causing warmer temperatures,…
Tag: Kentucky Health News
