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Compounding the dangerous effects of the heat wave will be abnormally warm overnight temperatures that will provide little to no relief from the heat, the prediction center said. The heat wave is expected to get worse before it gets better, with no relief in sight before early next week. In the meantime, more than 90 record high temperatures could be broken this week from Texas to Missouri to Florida. The state has been experiencing the heat wave for more than two weeks. Eric Gay/APTemperature records already brokenThe intensifying heat wave has already brought record-breaking temperatures to Texas.

Persons: Wesley Hopkins, ”, Eric Gay, Del, Rodrigo Pineda, Jose Balino, Dorsey, Kaylee Greenlee Beal Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Austin EMS, The Texas Department of State Health Services, Dallas, ” New, Del Rio, Central Locations: Arizona, Florida, Dallas , New Orleans, Baton Rouge , Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Plains, Missouri, Shreveport, Austin , Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi, ” New Orleans, Albuquerque, San Antonio, San Angelo, Del Rio, Angelo, Eagle Pass , Texas, Southern Plains

☆ The US documented 3 locally transmitted malaria cases for the first time in 20 years. It's not a reason to panic, but sheds a light on the concerns of climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Three cases of malaria spread locally have been identified in Texas and Florida. But in Texas, the Department of State Health Services confirmed Friday that a person working outdoors in Cameron County, Texas, contracted malaria locally. According to the DSHS, although Texas sees about 120 malaria cases a year from international travelers, the last locally acquired case in Texas was detected in 1994. About 1,400 miles away in Sarasota County, Florida, however, two more cases of locally transmitted malaria infections have been identified this year — one in May and one in June. "And I think we should be funding more public health responses."

Persons: —, Vox, Photini Sinnis, Johns, Sinnis, it's, mosquitos Organizations: Service, Department of State Health Services, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, WHO Locations: Texas, Florida, Southern, Cameron County , Texas, Sarasota County , Florida, States, United States, mosquitos

☆ Dr. Mandy Cohen: Biden chooses the next CDC director
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And as Cohen takes on what’s become an increasingly politicized role at the CDC, Biden heralded her capacity to work across the aisle. I look forward to working with Dr. Cohen as she leads our nation’s finest scientists and public health experts with integrity and transparency,” the president said. Cohen will hit the ground running as leader of the world’s finest public health organization saving lives every day. Walensky announced her departure from her government role last month in the days before the Covid-19 public health emergency lifted. As she prepares to step into the role, Cohen inherits an agency wracked with challenges and low morale.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mandy Cohen, Rochelle Walensky, Dr, Cohen, ” Biden, what’s, Biden, Jeff Zients, Zients, “ Dr, ” Cohen, Walensky, –, Obama, ”, Andy Slavitt, “ She’s, Slavitt, Republican Sen, Richard Burr of, she’s, … I’ve, Mandy, ” Burr, Burr, “, ” Slavitt, Roy Cooper, Cohen “, Trump, Cooper, she’ll Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, White House, CDC, North, North Carolina’s Department of Health, Human Services, Trump, Biden, Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, Yale School of Medicine, Harvard, of Public Health, The Washington Post, Center for Strategic, Studies, America’s Health Security, Republican, White, Democratic North Carolina Gov, Center for Health Sector Management, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Locations: North Carolina’s, Chan, “, North Carolina, Richard Burr of North Carolina, North Carolinians

☆ 2023 French Open women’s final: Karolína Muchová faces Iga Świątek
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Saturday’s women’s French Open final proves to be an intriguing one for many reasons, in particular because each player’s recent experiences offer tantalizing narratives. Muchová has had to overcome countless battles with injuries while Świątek has skyrocketed to become a three-time grand slam winner. She has slowly climbed back to her best and has enjoyed a remarkable run at this year’s French Open. In the final, with just a victory between her and a French Open title, this is familiar territory for the Pole. Although she’s familiar with the situation, Świątek said a lot had changed since her first French Open title three years ago.

Persons: Saturday’s, Iga Świątek, Roland Garros, Karolína Muchová, Świątek, Muchová, Rafael Nadal, ”, Philippe Chatrier, Maria Sakkari, Nadia Podoroska, Irina, Camelia Begu, Elina Avanesyan, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Muchova, Clive Brunskill, Indian Wells, “ It’s, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Świątek lunges, Haddad Maia, Andy Cheung, Nadal, “, Rafa, he’s Organizations: CNN, Sabalenka Locations: Prague, Paris, Indian, Dubai, Indian Wells

REUTERS/Francis MascarenhasBALASORE, India, June 7 (Reuters) - Indian authorities made fervent appeals to families on Tuesday to help identify over 100 unclaimed bodies kept in hospitals and mortuaries after 275 people were killed in the country's deadliest rail crash in over two decades. Following non-stop efforts to rescue survivors and clear and repair the track, trains resumed running over that section of the line on Sunday night. Till Monday evening around 100 bodies were yet to be identified, a senior state health department official told Reuters. Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, health director of Odisha, said authorities were trying to source iced containers to help preserve the bodies. "Unless they are identified, a post mortem cannot be done," Mohapatra said, explaining that under Odisha state regulations no autopsy can be conducted on an unclaimed body until 96 hours has passed.

Persons: Dilip Kumar Sabar, Jyotilal Sabar, Francis Mascarenhas BALASORE, Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, Odisha, Mohapatra, A.M, Chowdhary, Jatindra Dash, Krishn Kaushik, Sudipto Ganguly, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India's Railway, federal Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Railway, Express, Thomson Locations: Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Bhubaneswar's, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Kolkata, Howrah

☆ Was mass hysteria behind the mysterious case of 227 middle school students fainting last fall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lillian Perlmutter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences. Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

Persons: Esmeralda, Diala, Gladys, Esmeralda's, convulsing, Esmeralda Eva Alicia Lépiz, —, Esmerelda, Mami, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gladys didn't, Bochil, Luis Villagrán, bristled, Susanna, Tapachula, Diala's, José Eduardo Morales Montes, they'd, Eva Alicia Lépiz, Hidalgo —, I've, Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, Pantoja Meléndez, Meléndez, Robert Bartholomew, Bartholomew, Lopez Obrador, busily, Simon Wessley, schoolgirls, twitching, we'll, Pantoja, Melendez, Bartholomew said, we're, We've, who's Organizations: Federal, Central America, Journalists, Mexico City —, Mexico City, Universidad Autónoma Nacional, University of Auckland, Roswell, Kings College, New York, Health Department, Pantoja Locations: Tapachula, Mexico, Bochil, Mexican, Chiapas, Mexico City, El Pais, Chiapas —, Central, Esmeralda, Mexico City — Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, México, University of Auckland , New Zealand, Veracruz, London, Southern Mexico, Kanshasa, Tanzania, Blackburn , England, Sweden, Pyuthan, Nepal, Leroy , New York, Tapachula .

☆ As retirement confidence drops, experts say focusing on these 4 factors can help
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Decide where you will live in retirement— Key deadline to watch: The sooner, the better. While you may start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, eligibility for Medicare generally does not start until age 65. Choose when to claim Social Security benefits— Key deadline to watch: By age 60, you should go to the Social Security Administration website and review your statement, recommends Copeland. When to claim Social Security retirement benefits is one of the big questions retirees face. "The later you can file for Social Security, the better it is as far as the amount you're going to get," John said.

Persons: Craig Copeland, Copeland, Dann Tardif, Susan Reinhard, It's, Reinhard, Jane Sung, Sung, Rupp, John Organizations: AARP, Institute, Social, Medicare, Security, State Health Insurance, Social Security, Social Security Administration, Sporrer, Getty

☆ As South Carolina governor signs new law, abortion restrictions strain providers in U.S. South
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The South Carolina House of Representatives is called back by Gov. "This is a great day for life in South Carolina, but the fight is not over. We stand ready to defend this legislation against any challenges and are confident we will succeed," Republican South Carolina Gov. The new law signed by South Carolina governor's will change that status, according to Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College. Over the past two months, Republican officials in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida have pushed Virginia closer to being a regional outlier as a place with relatively permissive access.

☆ Deadly suspected fungal infections in Texas residents linked to surgeries in Matamoros, Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Five Texas residents became ill with suspected cases of fungal meningitis after traveling to Matamoros, Mexico, for surgery, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. In a travel advisory, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged patients to cancel certain procedures in Matamoros, Mexico. Health officials are investigating whether the cases are linked and whether there are more infections. In this aerial photo, a border fence divides the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico. “It is very important that people who have recently had medical procedures in Mexico monitor themselves for symptoms of meningitis,” said DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford.

☆ Americans in most states will no longer receive Covid exposure notifications on phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Americans in most states will no longer receive Covid exposure notifications on their smartphones now that the U.S. public health emergency has ended. On Thursday, the organization said "the majority of states" stopped using the exposure notification system after the Biden administration ended the public health emergency on May 11. There is no clear tally of how many Americans activated the exposure notification feature on their phones or downloaded apps over the past three years. Despite these benefits, some Americans have been skeptical of the Covid exposure notification tools. State decisions to end Covid exposure notifications are part of a broader shift in how the country responds to the pandemic.

☆ As Covid Emergency Ends, U.S. Response Shifts to ‘Peacetime’ Mode
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sheryl Gay Stolberg | Noah Weiland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Thursday, three years and 100 days after the Trump administration declared the coronavirus a public health emergency, the Biden administration will allow the emergency declaration to expire, ushering in a new era when the government will treat Covid-19 like any other respiratory ailment. If the coronavirus pandemic was a war, the United States is about to officially enter peacetime. State health officials, tasked with tracking the coronavirus, are burned out, their departments understaffed. President Biden’s coronavirus response team will soon disband. But the officials say they are operating on a tight budget; Congress has refused to give the administration any new money for the pandemic response.

☆ Florida Legislature Passes Bill Banning Gender-Transition Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Patricia Mazzei | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Background: The Legislature has prioritized bills aimed at L.G.B.T.Q. Last month, the Florida Board of Education expanded through 12th grade a prohibition on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. Why It Matters: A growing number of states are passing similar restrictions. At least 13 states have passed laws or policies in recent months to ban or significantly limit the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender-transition surgery for people under 18. advocacy organization GLAAD has already sued Florida over the state health board’s prohibition of what experts call gender-affirming care.

☆ Dental Coverage to Expand for 5 Million Low-Income New Yorkers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Andy Newman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Matthew Adinolfi, who has no top teeth and had no love life for over a decade, will be able to get implants so that he can kiss a woman without fear of his dentures falling out. Blanca Coreas, who can’t eat anything firmer than mashed potatoes without her gums bleeding, will be able to take a bite of grilled meat. Lillian Velazquez has now gotten the root canal that was denied for nearly five years. A class-action suit that was settled on Monday will bring about a change that is as potentially transformative as it is mundane: coverage of common but costly dental procedures for the 5 million adults in New York State who are on Medicaid, including implants, root canals and replacement dentures. The suit, filed in 2018 in federal court against the State Health Department, which oversees Medicaid in New York, charged the state with denying thousands of low-income New Yorkers medically necessary treatment.

☆ Heading into retirement? Here are 4 key tips for mapping out a game plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Claiming Social Security benefits• Key deadline to watch: By age 60, you should go to the Social Security Administration website and review your statement, recommends Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI. When to claim Social Security retirement benefits is one of the big questions retirees face. At full retirement age — 66 or 67, depending on your date of birth — you will receive 100% of the benefits you earned. "The later you can file for Social Security, the better it is as far as the amount you're going to get," John said. While you may start your Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, eligibility for Medicare generally does not start until age 65.

Trump won 76% of the white evangelical vote in 2020, down from 80% in 2016, according to Edison Research exit polls. In a March poll, Trump edged DeSantis among evangelicals in a two-way matchup 51% to 42%, a nine-point improvement for Trump from the month before. The gathering is traditionally an important stop for Republican presidential candidates, although this year DeSantis, who was invited, will not be going. Vander Plaats said evangelicals will consider whether Trump can prevail next year after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. “I don’t think President Trump is a principled man -- I think he was a great president,” Ascol said.

☆ How India's birth control battle falters in rural district
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Zamerun Nisha, 33, lies down after giving birth while a doctor holds and cleans her newborn baby, at the labor ward of a community health center in Bahadurganj subdivision of Kishanganj district, Bihar, India, March 21, 2023. India’s fertility rate, fell to 2.0 in 2019-21, but State health officials estimate Kishanganj's fertility rate at 4.8 or 4.9, creating a population growth problem that the state is trying to curb with the distribution of condoms and birth control pills, as well as the paying 3,000 Indian rupees ($36.50) to women who get sterilized, 4,000 rupees to men, and 500 rupees per surgery to the health workers who perform them. "I talk to women while they are experiencing labor pain and nudge them to undergo sterilization immediately after delivery," said Parvati Rajak, a medical officer in one of Kishanganj’s seven government health centers. "But the final choice is always made by the family." REUTERS/Anushree FadnavisClose

☆ New York and California are stockpiling alternative abortion pill misoprostol
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pills of Misoprostol, used to terminate early pregnancies, are displayed in a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 12, 2022. New York and California are stockpiling massive quantities of an alternative abortion medication in case a federal judge's order suspending the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the main drug mifepristone goes into effect later this week. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday ordered the state health department to immediately start purchasing 150,000 doses of misoprostol, a five-year supply of the pill. Gavin Newsom said California has secured 2 million pills of misoprostol. The second pill is used as a standalone abortion medication in parts of the world.

☆ The parents of an 8-year-old trans girl say they're moving from Florida to Minnesota, fearing an anti-trans law that could threaten the custody of their daughter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Leo Aquino | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The bill would restrict funding and protections for healthcare providers that offer gender-affirming care to trans patients. "I thought the worst they would do is restrict gender-affirming care," Amanda said. This would prohibit universities or health insurance plans for government workers from using public funds to provide gender-affirming care. In February, the Board of Medicine expanded on the restrictions and banned gender-affirming care for minors, including in clinical trials. In a previous story about SB 254, representatives for DeSantis declined to comment on SB 254 until it makes its way to the Governor's desk.

On TikTok, trans adults and supportive parents of trans youth have spoken emotionally about the heartbreaking decision to move. I moved to 3 major cities, each time with $400 or less in my pocketIn 2010, I moved to Chicago for college at 19 years old. Five years later, in 2015, I moved to New York City with no job, housing plans, or savings. Call LGBTQ organizations in your desired state to find housing supportMany LGBTQ organizations across the country, like the Los Angeles LGBT Center, offer social services and housing for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability due to these anti-trans bills. When you arrive to your destination, connect with local LGBTQ organizations or organizations that help the unhoused in that city.

☆ South African court orders striking healthcare workers to end walkout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) march during a strike over wage disputes, at the Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus outside Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - The South African Labour Appeal Court on Monday ordered striking state healthcare workers to end a week-long walkout that has affected services in some of the country's major hospitals, the health department said. National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) members went on strike last week after wage talks with the government failed. The labour relations act prohibits essential workers from engaging in strike action which is detrimental to healthcare services with a risk of loss of life, he told a press briefing. The South African military said it had deployed medics to help in the affected hospitals at the request of the health department.

☆ Venture Capital Investors Are Trying to Take Over Pandemic Response
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Private capital has been eyeing public health for years. Several founders and investors told me that the failure of Kleiner's fund made Silicon Valley wary of investing in pandemic preparedness. Venture investors love that kind of thing. Public health and private industryWhen COVID hit, Charity Dean was the assistant director of the California Department of Public Health. In the end, almost every pandemic-related product created by Silicon Valley will ultimately require the government as a primary customer.

☆ U.S. CDC issues advisory after confirmed measles case in Kentucky
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 3 (Reuters) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday it was issuing a health alert advisory to notify clinics and public health officials to be watchful after a case of measles was confirmed at a large gathering in Kentucky. On Feb. 24, the Kentucky Department for Public Health identified a confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated individual with a history of recent international travel, the CDC said. The CDC said doctors should consider measles as a diagnosis with anyone with clinically compatible symptoms. The agency also asked physicians to recommend measles, mumps and rubella shots for patients who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. The advisory also recommends healthcare professionals to immediately notify local or state health departments about any suspected case of measles to ensure rapid testing following the CDC's testing recommendations.

☆ CDC advisors recommend mpox vaccine for at-risk adults in future outbreaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended administering the two-dose Jynneos vaccine to adults at risk of mpox in the event of future outbreaks, following last year's unprecedented epidemic. "It's important to state that an mpox outbreak will be determined by public health authorities, and a single case may be considered an mpox outbreak at the discretion of the public health authority," said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, head of the CDC committee's mpox workgroup. "Local health departments, state health departments, federal can all make that determination of what is considered an outbreak," Rao said. The CDC advisors will meet again in June to discuss using the Jynneos vaccine for kids at risk of mpox in future outbreaks. The U.S. is currently offering the vaccine to adults and adolescents who are at risk in the current epidemic.

☆ South Korean court recognises spousal coverage of state insurance for same-sex couple -Yonhap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Tuesday recognised spousal coverage of state health insurance for a same-sex couple in a landmark verdict, overturning a lower court's ruling that said the union cannot be considered a common law couple under current law, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. The plaintiff, So Sung-wook, filed a suit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021 after the state health insurer denied his rights to receive spousal coverage despite granting such rights to other common law couples. But the appellate court said the spousal coverage system under the state health insurance scheme is not just for families as defined by law, and not granting the rights to same-sex couples was discrimination, Yonhap reported. Protecting the rights of minorities is the "biggest responsibility" of the court as the "last bastion" of human rights, the court added. Telephone calls by Reuters to the National Health Insurance Service seeking comment went unanswered.

☆ Explainer: What we know about China's medical reform protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHAT ARE THE MEDICAL INSURANCE REFORMS? Beginning Feb. 1, personal medical insurance benefits for Wuhan retirees were slashed from about 5% of the average basic pension to 2.5%, or 83 yuan ($12) per month, according to the Wuhan Healthcare Security Administration. In an essay published Thursday that did not refer to the protests, Finance Minister Liu Kun vowed to "deepen the reform of medical insurance payment methods". Following initial protests in Wuhan last week, the hashtag "Major adjustment in Wuhan medical reform" was viewed over 100 million times before being blocked. Since January, similar insurance reforms have been rolled out in provinces and regions including Jiangxi, Gansu，Shanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and Guangxi.

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