Health & Safety

If Wyoming bans abortion, hospitals may have an even harder time recruiting doctors

5:33pm February 27, 2023

by Kamila Kudelska

Wyoming has one of America's worst physician shortages, and now some homegrown medical students say they're looking for jobs out of state as state lawmakers are pushing bills criminalizing abortion.

Health & Safety

Energy Dept. says with 'low confidence' that lab leak may be origin of COVID-19

4:14pm February 27, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Michael Gordon of The Wall Street Journal about a classified report indicating the Energy Department believes the COVID pandemic was likely caused by a lab leak in China.

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The impact of the Ukraine war on food supplies: 'It could have been so much worse'

4:12pm February 27, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

That's the view of Joseph Glauber of the International Food Policy Research Institute. He considers the fear the war would lead to a surge in food prices – and a dramatic worsening of world hunger.

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Idaho removed nearly 10,000 people from Medicaid in the pandemic's first years when enrollees couldn't be reached. The episode previews what could occur in other states after April 1, when a COVID-era coverage mandate ends.

Health & Safety

Idaho dropped thousands from Medicaid early in the pandemic. Which state's next?

5:01am February 27, 2023

by Rachana Pradhan

The federal agency that oversees Medicaid suggested Idaho wasn't trying hard enough to reach beneficiaries before letting their coverage lapse. Consumer advocates fear that could happen again.

Illustration of young people holding their cell phones up to their face

How to help young people limit screen time — and feel better about how they look

5:01am February 26, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

New research found teens and young adults who even briefly cut time on social media gained self esteem. Try these 5 tips to help them — and yourself — improve screen-life balance.

Lucira Health, which developed the dual-purposed diagnostic test, said it can provide a positive result as fast as 11 minutes and a negative result in about 30 minutes.

FDA authorizes the first at-home test for COVID-19 and the flu

9:09pm February 25, 2023

by Juliana Kim

The at-home nasal swab kit simultaneously tests for COVID-19 and two strains of the flu.

Health & Safety

The FDA recently gained more leverage over pharmaceutical companies. Will it use it?

7:52am February 25, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration late last year got more leverage over pharmaceutical companies that received accelerated approvals for their drugs. How will the agency use its new powers?

This winter's respiratory virus surge revealed problems in how we care for sick kids

7:52pm February 24, 2023

by Kate Wells

After a surge of respiratory viruses early this winter, many children's hospitals are finally returning to normal. But next time they surge, beds for young patients could again be hard to come by.

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A lawsuit over an abortion pill could about change how the FDA approves medicines

5:56pm February 24, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

A federal judge is set to rule in a case challenging the FDA's approval of an abortion pill decades ago. Siding with the anti-abortion group may have ripple effects on drug approvals as we know them.

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Mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 to induce first-trimester abortions in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.

Democratic state attorneys general sue Biden administration over abortion pill rules

5:53pm February 24, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

The suit comes as a federal judge in another case is considering whether to overturn FDA approval of the same drug, mifepristone.