Author: Heather Close
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Flu cases are on the decline in Kentucky, but still too high and the season runs through May; it’s not too late to get your flu shot
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Influenza cases in Kentucky declined in each of the last four weeks of 2022, but Gov. Andy Beshear said cases are still too high...
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FDA OKs Alzheimer’s drug, which may not be available soon, and carries some risks; UK testing on patients with marker of disease
Kentucky Health News The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug that has been found to help people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and is being...
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Opinion: Covid-19 is mutating and apparently winning, so we need to take preventive measures well beyond vaccinations
By Kevin Kavanagh There is no such thing as “herd immunity” for Covid-19. In this context it is a concept as antiquated as “the Earth is flat.” The theory was...
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Kentucky counties and cities get first installment of money from national opioid settlements, now must decide how to spend it
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky’s cities and counties have received their first installment of the state’s money from the national opioid settlement, most of which must be used...
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CDC says most of Ky. has medium risk of Covid-19 transmission; flu rates remain high; Beshear urges vaccinations and boosters
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News While the number of Kentucky counties with a high risk of Covid-19 transmission went down by two on the latest federal risk map, the...
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S.C. high court is first in U.S. since Roe repeal to find abortion right in state constitution; Idaho says no; Ky. case still pending
The South Carolina Supreme Court has become the first to find a right to abortion in a state constitution since the U.S. Supreme Court said last June that there is...
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FDA expands availability of abortion-inducing medication
Women who want to use a pill to end their pregnancy in the first 10 weeks will now be able to get it directly from health-care providers and pharmacies. The...
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New coronavirus cases went down 60% in Kentucky last week, but new hospitalizations of patients with Covid-19 rose 18.5%
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky reported 60 percent fewer new coronavirus cases last week, but the positive-test rate rose a bit and hospitalizations jumped more than 18 percent....
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Newly dominant variant more likely to evade Covid-19 antibodies, but so far not seen as more likely to cause serious disease
With a new subvariant of the novel coronavirus now dominant in the U.S., vaccinated people may be more likely to develop Covid-19 but still be well protected from serious disease,...
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Former deputy secretary in Ky. is Arkansas human services chief
Kristi Putnam, who was deputy secretary of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services during the administration of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, has been named secretary of the Arkansas...