Author: Al Cross
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34 counties have had cases of whooping cough this year; health department says highest level of infection since 2016-17
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News In about a month, cases of whooping cough in Kentucky increased nearly 82%, indicating an elevated rate of infection, according to the state Department for...
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New state health laws are in effect; one to regulate herbal drug kratom is in limbo due to lack of funding, Beshear says
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A number of new state health laws took effect July 15, ranging from measures on maternal health to improved access to a commonly used...
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In third round of grants from opioid settlements, director passes on one, saying Coleman opposes syringe-exchange programs
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The leader of the agency that hands out grants from the state’s opioid settlements declined to vote for a grant application that included more...
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Early data show 7.9% fall in overdose deaths in Ky. in 2023 was much more than national drop, but number of ODs remained high
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest provisional overdose-death data say drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky fell by 7.9 percent in 2023, more than the national decline of...
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Kentucky tobacco-free advocates win Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ national Group Youth Advocates of the Year award
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids named the #iCANendthetrend Youth Advisory Board Group Youth Advocates of the Year. Front, from left: Saumya Sikhwal, Jasmin Hernandez, Sarah Larkin and Philena Ash. Back: Jordan Joslin, Chloe Brady,...
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Tips to prevent drowning, No. 1 cause of unintentional injury-related death among children under 5; swim lessons reduce risk
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News As summer approaches and people begin to head to pools, lakes, ponds and streams, it’s important to remember that drownings can happen to anyone...
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Contrary to Trump’s musings, McConnell says efforts to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are ‘largely over’
Obamacare, now into its second decade, is pretty much here to stay. So says Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, contradicting former President Trump’s comments that he is still...
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Coleman wants opioid commission to shift focus to prevention, especially among youth; leaves small door open to ibogaine
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman laid out his mission for the next phase of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission Tuesday, calling on them...
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Opioid epidemic is in a ‘fourth wave,’ with multiple substances being used at the same time, and fentanyl is the most common
By Colleen DeGuzman KFF Health News The United States is knee-deep in what some experts call the opioid epidemic’s “fourth wave,” which is not only placing drug users at greater...
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UK study estimates more than 134,000 cases of cancer went undiagosed in the first 10 months of the pandemic, due to it
By Elizabeth Chapin University of Kentucky More than 134,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed in the U.S. during the first 10 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new University of...