U.S. Task Force Reconsiders Daily Low-Dose Aspirin Use for Preventing Heart Attacks in Adults Over 60

Older adults without heart disease shouldn’t take daily low-dose aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, an influential health guidelines group said in preliminary updated advice released Tuesday. Bleeding risks for adults in their 60s and up who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke outweigh any potential benefits from aspirin, the U.S. … Read more

Reluctant Towns, Cities and States Are Being Dragged Into Court to Fix Sidewalks for People With Disabilities

From her Baltimore dining room, Susan Goodlaxson can see her neighbor gardening across the street. But while other neighbors stop to chat, Goodlaxson just watches from the window. She uses a wheelchair, and there isn’t a single curb ramp on her block. If the 66-year-old wanted to join, she’d have to jump her wheelchair down … Read more

An Innovative Washington Law Aims to Get Foreign-Trained Doctors Back in Hospitals

Growing up in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where people sometimes die of preventable or treatable illnesses like diarrhea, typhoid and malaria, taught Abdifitah Mohamed a painful lesson: adequate health care is indispensable. In 1996, Mohamed’s mother died of septicemia after spending nine months hospitalized for a gunshot wound. Her death, Mohamed says, inspired him to … Read more

More than 120,000 American Kids Lost a Parent or Other Caregiver During the COVID-19 Pandemic

(NEW YORK) — The number of U.S. children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated, and the toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans, a new study suggests. More than half the children who lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic belonged to those two racial groups, which … Read more

The World’s First Malaria Vaccine—and What it Means for the Future of Pandemic Response

On Oct. 6, the World Health Organization recommended use of the first vaccine to fight malaria. The decision is momentous and highly anticipated for many reasons: among them is that this is the first vaccine to help reduce the risk of deadly severe malaria in young children in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease remains a … Read more

The Justice Department Says It’s Stepping in as Teachers and School Boards Face a Spike in Violent Threats

The U.S. Justice Department is launching an effort to combat a spike in harassment and violent threats against school board members and teachers, calling it a “disturbing trend,” while Republican leaders are denouncing the move as an attempt to silence parents amid debates over mask mandates and social justice issues. “While spirited debate about policy … Read more

The World Health Organization Just Endorsed The World’s First Malaria Vaccine

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday endorsed the world’s first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it “a historic moment” after a … Read more