Your Health

Gearing up for fall, health officials are recommending a new round of booster shots.

Omicron boosters: Do I need one, and if so, when?

2:54pm September 05, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

Updated COVID boosters are now available for anyone age 12 or older. The CDC is urging anyone who is eligible to sign up but some vaccine experts say some people might want to wait.

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Catholic health care systems can limit access to birth control.

Health & Safety

Catholic health care's wide reach can make it hard to get birth control in many places

5:01am September 04, 2022

by Maria Godoy

Religious rules guiding Catholic health care systems often mean their doctors can't prescribe contraceptives or perform tubal ligations. And sometimes that leaves patients with few other options.

A heat wave is smothering much of the Western region including Los Angeles. Worrisome weather trends like this can contribute to climate stress.

Health & Safety

Stressed out about climate change? 4 ways to tackle both the feelings and the issues

9:32pm September 03, 2022

by Lisa Doggett

Heat waves, drought, massive storms. The bad news just keeps coming and there's no denying these issues are anxiety-provoking. If you feel that way, you're not alone.

Vials of the reformulated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster move through production at a plant in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Health & Safety

CDC recommends new booster shots to fight omicron

10:17pm September 01, 2022

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that target the original virus and the omicron subvariants.

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Regina Campbell holds her paperwork for knocking on doors to tell residents about issues on the ballot in the fall, including a potential constitutional amendment on reproductive rights, in Pontiac, Mich., on August 6, 2022.

The Michigan supreme court set to decide whether voters see abortion on the ballot

9:01pm August 31, 2022

by Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

Michigan's Board of Canvassers rejected an abortion rights initiative on Wednesday after its Republican board members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on November's ballot.

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Flags at the Washington Monument commemorate Americans who died from COVID-19. In 2021, life expectancy in the U.S. fell for the second year in a row.

Life expectancy in the U.S. continues to drop, driven by COVID-19

5:18pm August 31, 2022

Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data.

The U.S. food system makes junk food plentiful and cheap. Eating a diet based on whole foods like fresh fruit and vegetables can promote health - but can also strain a tight grocery budget. Food leaders are looking for ways to improve how Americans eat.

Health & Safety

The U.S. diet is deadly. Here are 7 ideas to get Americans eating healthier

1:41pm August 31, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

The way many Americans eat is fueling chronic disease. Here are seven big ideas from the White House's upcoming nutrition conference for how to improve Americans' diets.

Vials of the newly reformulated COVID-19 vaccine booster are being readied by Pfizer for distribution now that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the shots for people 12 and older.

Health & Safety

FDA authorizes first revamp of COVID vaccines to target omicron

11:01am August 31, 2022

The new shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants that most people are catching now.

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams joins a group of women as they discuss their personal stories of miscarraige at her campaign headquarters in Decatur, Ga. on Aug. 3.

Stacey Abrams is behind in the polls and looking to abortion rights to help her win

7:59am August 28, 2022

by Riley Bunch

To make up some ground in the Georgia race for governor, Stacey Abrams is hoping to harness any energy around abortion rights by pointing to success on the issue in Kansas and appealing to emotions.

Dani Yuengling of Conway, South Carolina, knew she had to follow up after a mammogram found a lump. Her mom had died of breast cancer. But she had no idea how expensive the biopsy would be.

Health & Safety

An $18,000 biopsy? Paying cash might have been cheaper than using her insurance

5:05am August 23, 2022

by Lauren Sausser

A hospital's cost calculator said her procedure would be $1,400 for patients without insurance. Instead, the bill was almost $18,000 and, her part was more than $5,000 — the balance of her deductible.