Health News

(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% about three months ago.Test positivity is a metric used to identify how many people are confirmed to have norovirus after an illness […]

(NEW YORK) -- As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, some Americans are worried about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.The subsidies, or premium tax credits, help lower or eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of monthly premiums for those who purchase insurance through the health insurance marketplace.They were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic and are currently set to expire at the end of 2025.Democrats have been […]

(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 Texas that infected more than 700 people and spread to New Mexico and Oklahoma.Meanwhile, an outbreak in Arizona and Utah […]

(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 first U.S. case of the more severe strain of mpox without known travel was identified in a patient from Long Beach, California, bringing the total […]

(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 Tylenol.The lawsuits were dismissed in December 2023 by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote after finding that the plaintiffs' scientific experts did not provide credible evidence linking use of Tylenol, or its active ingredient acetaminophen, […]

(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 gender-affirming surgeries -- caused significant, long-term damage.It comes after HHS published in May an early version of what it […]

(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 obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic kidney disease and overall higher death rates. Common examples […]

(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 2019.Laboratory testing at the department’s Wadsworth Center confirmed the case in Nassau County on Long Island, according to health […]

(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, found that men and women who smoked as few as two cigarettes daily had a 60% increased risk of death from any cause […]