Category Archives: US healthcare

Pig kidney keeps working for over a month in brain-dead man’s body

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Medical breakthrough marks longest pig kidney has functioned in a human, setting stage for operations in living patients

A pig’s kidney transplanted by surgeons into a brain-dead man has continued to function normally for more than a month – a critical step toward an operation the New York team hopes to eventually try in living patients.

The latest experiment, announced on Wednesday by New York University Langone Health, marks the longest a pig kidney has functioned in a person, albeit a deceased one, and it’s not over. Researchers will track the kidney’s performance for a second month.

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A hero twice over: US paramedic saves lives of two people in one family

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Kristi Hadfield saved John Cunningham, a military veteran, in 2016 and years later, donated a kidney to his daughter, Molly

A paramedic who once restarted a US military veteran’s heart has now saved the life of that man’s daughter.

Kristi Hadfield’s life-saving heroics in benefit of retired marine John Cunningham and his daughter Molly Cunningham Jones earned a heartwarming narrative feature from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, which went viral among social media platforms that aggregate uplifting news stories.

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FDA advisers say new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab slows cognitive decline

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Panel’s opinion could pave way for full regulatory approval next month for treatment of disease that affects 6.5m Americans

A panel that advises the Food and Drug Administration agreed that a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease was beneficial for slowing cognitive decline, paving the way for full regulatory approval next month.

Earlier this year, the drug, known as lecanemab, was granted partial, or accelerated, approval, but that restricted it to people who could pay $26,500 a year or were enrolled in a clinical trial. Under its current status, it is not available under the public health programs Medicare and Medicaid.

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US health authorities reportedly plan to stop tracking Covid on community level

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Instead of using colour-coded system focusing on spread of virus by county the CDC will track hospitalisation rates

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly plans to stop tracking the spread of Covid-19 on the community level across the country, signalling what could be the federal government’s readiness to reconsider priorities in its approach to the pandemic despite the World Health Organization’s declaration that it is still ongoing.

Instead of using its colour-coded Covid-19 tracking system that focuses on the spread of the virus by counties, the CDC will pivot its tracking focus mostly to hospitalisation rates, CNN first reported on Friday.

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Biden administration asks US supreme court to halt abortion pill restrictions

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Limits slated to go into effect at 12.01am Saturday following lower court’s order revoking the FDA’s approval of mifepristone

The Biden administration appealed to the US supreme court on Friday asking it to halt an appellate ruling that adds onerous restrictions to a key abortion drug. The restrictions were slated to go into effect at 12.01am on Saturday morning.

The ruling at the center of the emergency application to the high court was issued on Wednesday night by the fifth circuit court of appeals. The US Department of Justice had asked the appeals court to block a lower court order revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone in 2000.

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California governor halts $54m contract with Walgreens: ‘We’re done’

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After pharmacy giant pledged not to dispense abortion medicine in states that restrict its use, Gavin Newsom cancels agreement

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday withdrew a $54m contract with Walgreens after the pharmacy giant indicated it would not sell an abortion pill by mail in some conservative-led states.

Newsom ordered state officials to not renew a contract with Walgreens to purchase specialty pharmacy prescription drugs for California’s prison healthcare system, including antiviral and antifungal drugs and medication used for congestive heart failure. Walgreens has received about $54m from the contract, which expires 30 April.

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Mississippi sees 900% rise in number of infants born with congenital syphilis

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Medical professionals attribute the increasing cases of disease to inadequate prenatal healthcare and understaffed workforce

Mississippi has registered an alarming rise in the number of infants being treated for congenital syphilis.

According to hospital billing data shared with NBC, the amount of babies who have been treated for the sexually transmitted disease has increased by more than 900% over five years.

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US registers rise in highly infectious norovirus causing stomach illness

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CDC says positive tests for virus, which causes nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain, peaked at 16% in January

The US is seeing a rise in the norovirus informally called the stomach flu or stomach bug, according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with positive tests for the contagious illness peaking at 16% in January.

The rise in infections spans the US, according to the healthcare agency, with infection rates not seen since last spring.

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Surge in complications from unsafe abortions likely post-Roe, doctors warn

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People in underserved medical communities in states that ban abortions may be more likely to attempt self-managed abortions

Top doctors in the US warn that surgeons should be prepared to treat more patients with complications from self-managed abortions and forced pregnancy after the overturning of Roe v Wade.

In a recent opinion piece published in the BMJ, 17 experts from medical centers and universities including the University of Chicago, Duke Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania urged surgeons to be prepared to treat medical consequences related to a person’s inability to access an abortion.

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Thousands of nurses in New York City to strike in pursuit of fair contract

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Strike date at seven hospitals set for 9 January after 98.8% vote in favor, with wages, staff ratios and health insurance key issues

At least 12,000 nurses at seven hospitals in New York City are threatening to strike after their union contract expired at the end of last year. A strike date is set for 9 January.

The nurses are pushing for the hospitals to implement and enforce safe staffing ratios, improve wages in line with inflation, and maintain health insurance coverage as opposed to proposed cuts by the hospitals.

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Senate on track to pass $1.7tn funding bill to avert US government shutdown

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Bill includes $45bn in military aid to Ukraine after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes

The US Senate appeared back on track Thursday to pass a $1.7tn bill to finance federal agencies through September 2023 and provide roughly $45bn in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes.

The Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced an agreement to consider 15 amendments before voting on final passage. Most of the amendments would be subject to a 60-vote threshold to pass, generally dooming them to failure in the 50-50 Senate.

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Minnesota nurses’ strike vote puts safety and conditions in spotlight

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15,000-strong Minnesota Nurses Association authorized to call what would be one of the largest nurses’ strikes in US history

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses around the US have faced deteriorating working conditions and challenges, from safety concerns to increasing workloads that have stemmed from understaffing as nurses have quit their jobs or retired early.

Those nurses who are still on the job at many hospitals say they have been expected to do more with fewer resources, an issue that nurses say is causing retention crises and jeopardizing patient safety and care.

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‘Biggest step forward on climate ever’: Biden signs Democrats’ landmark bill

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Party leaders hope approval of Inflation Reduction Act will boost their prospects in the midterm elections this November

Joe Biden signed Democrats’ healthcare, climate and tax package on Tuesday, putting the final seal of approval on a landmark bill that party leaders hope will boost their prospects in the midterm elections this November.

During a bill-signing ceremony at the White House, the US president celebrated the bill as a historic piece of legislation that would reduce healthcare costs for millions of Americans and help address the climate crisis.

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Inflation Reduction Act will be ‘life-changing’ for Black and Latino seniors

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Millions of Americans could benefit from provisions in the bill that reduce prescription drug costs, experts say

Millions of older American could benefit from provisions in the new climate and healthcare spending package that lower prescription drug costs. For Black and Latino seniors, who disproportionately suffer from chronic diseases and struggle with high costs, the package, if passed and signed by Joe Biden, could be especially life-changing.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which the US House is expected to pass on Friday, would give Medicare the power to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies for up to 10 drugs starting in 2026. But other provisions could make the annual out-of-pocket costs for US seniors more affordable, which could disproportionately help low-income Americans and Black and Latino seniors on Medicare, who are up to twice as likely to struggle with paying for medication as white Americans.

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Joe Biden hails Senate deal as ‘most significant’ US climate legislation ever

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Proposal backed by centrist senator Joe Manchin also addresses healthcare, tax rises for high earners and cutting federal debt

Joe Biden has hailed a congressional deal that represents the biggest single climate investment in US history – and hands him a badly needed political victory.

In a stunning reversal, Senate Democrats on Wednesday announced an expansive $739bn package that had eluded them for months addressing healthcare and the climate crisis, raising taxes on high earners and corporations and reducing federal debt.

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‘People want me dead’: abortion providers fear violence after Roe overturned

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Danger is a daily reality for the health workers, and moments of upheaval raise the risk, expert says

Boulder, Colorado, has for decades made its abortion providers feel welcome. The city council passed one of the country’s first laws regulating how close demonstrators could get to patients seeking reproductive care, and residents took to the streets in protest when it became clear that the supreme court was ready to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, as it did last month.

“Boulder is probably the most pro-choice community in the country,” said Warren Hern, director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic. “But there are people in the community who want me dead.”

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Millions risk losing US healthcare when Covid emergency declaration expires

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An estimated 5.3 million to 14.2 million could lose Medicaid coverage when the public health emergency ends in July

When the US federal government’s pandemic health emergency declaration expires, millions of Americans are at risk of losing healthcare coverage through Medicaid with potentially devastating consequences.

According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an estimated 5.3 million to 14.2 million could lose their Medicaid coverage when the Covid-19 public health emergency ends on 15 July if it is not extended.

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Kentucky and Idaho measures severely restricting abortions are halted

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Measures’ constitutionality brought into question amid flurry of abortion restrictions passed in US states

Two measures that severely restrict abortions were halted on Friday, one by Kentucky’s governor and a second by Idaho’s supreme court.

In Kentucky, Democratic governor Andy Beshear vetoed a Republican-priority bill on Friday that would ban abortions in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy and regulate the dispensing of abortion pills.

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‘Feels like the good old days’: Joe Biden welcomes Barack Obama back to White House – live

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Ivanka Trump will testify before the January 6 committee this afternoon.

The Guardian confirmed that former president Donald Trump’s oldest daughter, and former senior White House adviser, will speak to the panel virtually.

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US FDA considers approving second Covid-19 booster shot – report

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Wall Street Journal says regulator could authorize fourth shots of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the fall

US health regulators are looking at authorizing a potential fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing data to authorize a second booster dose of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna, the report added.

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