Author: admin
Hundreds of thousands of students heading to university this autumn are being urged by the NHS to book a potentially lifesaving MenB vaccine from today before term starts. Appointments to get the jab can now be booked at high street pharmacies across England, offering vital protection for 17 and 18-year-olds currently in the last year of sixth form and students under the age of 25 who are heading to residential colleges or university this autumn for the first time. The first vaccination appointments will be available from Monday 20 July. Meningococcal B can cause serious, life-threatening problems including inflammation of…
Photograph of the University of Texas at El Paso campus (USA) taken on 6 March 2025. Record-breaking dust storms sent pollution levels soaring in China and the US-Mexico border region in 2025, disrupting transport, shutting schools and airports, and sending thousands to emergency rooms, according to a new World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report. Overall, average dust concentrations in 2025 were similar to the previous year, but the regional extremes were severe, the WMO Airborne Dust Bulletin found. It is the tenth in the annual series. Around 2,000 million tonnes of dust enter the atmosphere each year, with dust storms now…
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed the health risks of consuming raw milk and an outbreak of infant botulism linked to recalled formula on CBS News’ CBS Mornings and CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on July 7. Gounder also discussed allegations about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s oversight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on CBS Mornings on July 6. KFF Health News Georgia correspondent Briah Lumpkins discussed extreme heat in Georgia on WUGA’s The Georgia Health Report on July 3. KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed strategically…
The NHS is urging millions of people in their 50s to complete lifesaving bowel cancer screening tests, as new figures show this age group is less likely to take part. The latest annual bowel screening figures show that just over half (56.2%) of 54-year-olds took part in screening in the year April 2024 to March 2025, compared with more than 7 in 10 (73.5%) 70 to 74-year-olds. Around 100 cancers a week on average were diagnosed through the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme during the year, with almost 5.2 million people taking part in screening – nearly half a million…
Data centre electricity consumption will double by 2030. But solutions exist, experts at an AI for Good panel in Geneva: (L-R) Molly Webb (Energy Unlocked), Laura Schade (UK), Cyrille Brisson (Eaton), Thomas Spencer (IEA), Priyanka Dasgupta (moderator). The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is siphoning off water and electricity supplies used by communities around the globe, and creating new sources of air pollution and climate emissions from additional power generation. Yet, experts and industry representatives claim that the technology holds the key to mitigating the very crises it compounds. Advanced algorithms are already driving profound environmental solutions, ranging from monitoring…
Confirmed cases in DRC rose 25% in a week to 1,759, with 600 dead, as a new UNDP assessment projects the epidemic could push nearly a million people into poverty. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600. The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality rate is 34%, officials said. At Africa CDC’s previous press conference a week earlier, on…
Women wait to be screened for breast and cervical cancer at the RAiSE Foundation center in Niger State. Across the continent, however, access to cancer screening and diagnosis remains patchy and inconsistent. Africa can no longer afford to manage cancer care as a perpetual crisis. Instead, policy leaders must recognize this crisis for what it truly is: the ultimate ‘stress test’ for national health systems. The WHO Global Status Report on Cancer, published this week, highlights the persistent inequities in access to timely cancer diagnosis and treatment and disproportionately high levels of cancer mortality across the continent. When a system…
Kelly Haggett figures that a mandatory surcharge added to Washington state’s payroll tax cost her about $500 last year. But she doesn’t really mind. “On a scale of 1 to 10 of my annoyance with taxes in general, this one is about a 2,” she said. “I see the benefits.” The small surcharge on wages provides the funding for Washington Cares, the nation’s first state-operated program for long-term care insurance. It was set to begin distributing benefits July 1. If Haggett, 67, a systems administrator who lives in Auburn, Washington, needs help with daily activities as she ages — bathing,…
Seasonal work. Inconsistent hours. Frequent moves. Cash payments and informal jobs. For farmworkers who rely on Medicaid, these common employment patterns could put their health coverage at risk. It’s a heightened concern for the estimated million-plus farmworkers who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, as new work requirements kick in for the federal-state healthcare program that serves low-income and disabled Americans. Starting next year in most states, many adults enrolled in Medicaid will have to prove they work, are enrolled in college or vocational courses, volunteer, or do unpaid work for at least 80 hours a month. Advocates say…
Medicaid covers one-fifth of adults with substance use disorders (SUDs), including many with substantial treatment needs. Inpatient and residential care services are part of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) continuum of SUD services. However, long-standing federal law has generally prohibited Medicaid payments for inpatient or residential care services that are provided in Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) for adults ages 21 to 64. IMDs include certain psychiatric and substance use treatment facilities with more than 16 beds that are primarily engaged in providing diagnosis, treatment or care for people with mental health or substance use disorders. Section 1115…
Cheers as the World Health Assembly adopts the Pandemic Agreement on 20 May 2025. Now a critical annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing needs equitable resolution. As the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group reconvenes in Geneva in the quest to nail down an accord on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS), the former President of Botswana and the President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation argue that this critical annex to the 2025 Pandemic Agreement needs to ensure benefit-sharing commitments are just as mandatory and enforceable as commitments around rapid and transparent pathogen sharing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, inequities were manifested not only through…
Long-term care (LTC) encompasses the broad range of paid and unpaid medical and personal care services that assist with activities of daily living (such as eating, bathing, and dressing) and instrumental activities of daily living (such as preparing meals, managing medication, and housekeeping). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that after age 65, over half of people will at some point need help with at least two activities of daily living, over half will use paid LTC, and over one-third will use some nursing home care. People under 65 with disabilities also rely on LTC for assistance with activities…
Highlights KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust shows that larger shares of the public express uncertainty over common vaccine myths than definitive belief. The latest analysis, looking at patterns of belief across vaccine myths, shows which adults are consistent myth believers, consistent myth deniers, and those who fall in the “mixed middle” whose views are less defined and may be an important focus for those looking to counter vaccine misinformation. These findings, including a detailed explainer on patterns of belief across vaccine myths, can also be found on KFF’s interactive Health Information and Trust Polling Dashboard. Featured…
The NHS is facing a “summer onslaught”, with A&Es experiencing their busiest month on record in June amid record heatwaves and the World Cup. Average daily A&E attendances exceeded 80,000 (81,264) for the first time ever in June – setting a new daily attendance record – despite May recording a slightly higher overall total due to having 1 extra day, according to new NHS data. The record-breaking demand comes as new figures show confidence in GP services and pharmacy is bouncing back, with health bosses urging public to take advantage of the full range of services available locally. More than…
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.” Eight days before my 33rd birthday in April, a social worker at a crisis clinic near Denver determined I was an imminent danger to myself. She placed me on an involuntary 72-hour mental health hold. What came next wasn’t treatment, but a search for a bed. Clinic staffers called area hospitals with inpatient psychiatric units, asking if they had available beds. They didn’t. So, I was told I had to spend the night at the…
The contraceptive implant is the most effective reversible birth control method available. Implants, along with intrauterine devices (IUDs), are known as long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) because they can be used to prevent pregnancy for several years and can be removed at any time. Implants have been available since the 1990s and have undergone substantial design modifications since their debut. The newest generation implant was introduced to the U.S. market in 2006 and remains the only contraceptive implant available in the U.S. Barriers to implant use include limited awareness and availability, high up-front costs for clinicians to stock the device, and…