Author: Al Cross
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Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky rose nearly 15% last year; fentanyl involved in 73% of deaths, methamphetamine in 48%
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose 14.6 percent in Kentucky in 2021, according to the state’s annual report released Monday. “The drug epidemic is not a Kentucky...
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Kentucky’s Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations keep rising, somewhat steeply, but the positive-test rate is slightly lower
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News While coronavirus cases and Covid-19 hospitalizations in Kentucky went up last week, at much the same acceleration as the week before, the share of...
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Sons of smokers may be more prone to addiction-like behaviors, memory problems and anxiety, study says
If you’re a parent who smokes, your sons may be more susceptible to addiction-related symptoms, memory problems and anxiety, says a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The study is another...
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Kentucky’s intensive-care units will give new parents insurer-funded kits so new parents can learn how to give CPR to infants
The Kentuckiana American Heart Association and the Kentucky Association of Health Plans, the association for companies selling and managing health insurance in the state, and have introduced a new initiative to equip thousands...
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Pharmacy benefit managers’ group ranked No. 7 in spending for lobbying the General Assembly, after laying out $53,634 for ads
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The lobbying organization for pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen between insurance companies and drug manufacturers, spent $86,168 in its successful effort to defeat a...
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UK HealthCare spending $5 million on security upgrades, setting new policies amid gun violence at health facilities in other states
The University of Kentucky is bolstering security at health-care campuses “in response to increasing reports of violence taking place across the nation in health-care settings,” a news release said Friday. UK said...
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Campaign to reduce stigma associated with drug addiction shows promising results; Kentucky program is called ‘Unshame KY’
A campaign to reduce stigma associated with substance-use disorders has shown it can change attitudes and beliefs about people with drug addictions and increase support for harm-reduction strategies. The campaign,...
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Changing virus poses challenges to updating Covid-19 vaccines
Efforts to update Covid-19 vaccines are struggling to keep up with mutations in the novel coronavirus, raising the question of whether updated vaccines will be outdated by the time they...
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CDC estimates that Covid-19 risk level is high in 19 Ky. counties, up from 7 last week; level is medium in 28, up from 21
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The federal government’s coronavirus map for Kentucky shows a higher level of virus transmission and an increased risk of the Covid-19 disease. Nineteen Kentucky...
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Six children in five Kentucky counties have hepatitis from unknown cause(s)
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Six cases of hepatitis from an unknown cause have been reported in Kentucky, in children between 8 months and 4 years old. The cases,...