Health

Isabel Pavia/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Medical and scientific experts advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have voted in favor of allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. “The large body of evidence on the safety and effectiveness is very reassuring,” said one adviser, Dr. Kathryn Curtis. The FDA will […]

Karl Tapales/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — In the first guidance of its kind, the American Psychological Association (APA) has issued sweeping recommendations intended to help teenagers use social media safely. The guidance is primarily directed toward parents and formalizes prior recommendations around social media use, including setting time limits, family discussions about social media and […]

ABC News (BURLINGTON, Vt.) — Jes Kraus was supposed to be going to the University of Vermont Medical Center every day for aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments to fight stage three colorectal cancer, for which he was diagnosed in September 2020. But at the end of October 2022, the hospital called to tell him not […]

Courtesy Jonah Barrow (NEW YORK) — Nine months ago, near the end of August, Jonah Barrow, a high school senior, attempted to take his own life. Now, the 18-year-old from Katy, Texas, is speaking out about his survival to share a message of hope amid a mental health crisis in the United States, particularly among […]

Alexandros Maragos/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — More than one-third of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an annual report published by the American Lung Association. The 24th iteration of the State of the Air report determined 19 million fewer Americans live in these areas. Unhealthy levels of pollution were […]

Morsa Images/Getty Images (SILVER SPRING, Md.) — The Food and Drug Administration authorized a second omicron-targeted bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine for people over 65 or who are immunocompromised, the agency announced Tuesday. The agency also said any adult who has not yet been vaccinated will get one dose of an updated bivalent shot, rather than […]

Jackyenjoyphotography/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A new report from Senate Republicans doubles down on the theory that COVID-19 emerged from an accidental lab leak in Wuhan — and possibly, even more than one leak. While their investigation concedes that “both hypotheses are plausible,” the nearly 300-page document released by the minority on the Senate health subcommittee […]

Karl Tapales/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — YouTube , the largest video-sharing platform, announced Tuesday a new policy framework for eating disorder-related content, in the company’s latest effort to address the growing mental health crisis, especially among teens, who can often be “vulnerable viewers.” “Mental health issues like eating disorders can be isolating and stigmatizing for […]

d3sign/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Early on in her pregnancy, Tori Wapsheli made plans to deliver her second child in the same hospital where she had her first — Astria Toppenish Hospital on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State. But with just three months left in her pregnancy, the hospital suddenly shut down its […]

KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (MICHIGAN) — Nearly 100 probable cases of a rare fungal infection, including one fatal, have been linked to a Michigan paper mill. Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM) said 21 cases of blastomycosis have been confirmed while another 76 are suspected. All cases are in employees, contractors or visitors […]