Two Georgia deaths are tied to abortion restrictions. Experts say abortion pills they took are safe

Two Georgia deaths are tied to abortion restrictions. Experts say abortion pills they took are safe

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak about abortion Friday in Georgia, where two women’s deaths have been tied to a state law that mostly bans the procedure after roughly six weeks. Amber Thurman died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat complications that occurred after she took abortion pills. Reported by … Read more

Global vaccine alliance GAVI to buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine

Global vaccine alliance GAVI to buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine

DAKAR, Senegal — The global vaccine alliance Gavi will buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine to battle outbreaks of the disease in African countries, the organization said on Wednesday. The vaccine doses — manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic — will be available this year, Gavi said, without giving any specific dates. Gavi said … Read more

‘She should be alive today’ — Harris spotlights woman’s death to blast abortion bans and Trump

‘She should be alive today’ — Harris spotlights woman’s death to blast abortion bans and Trump

ATLANTA — Kamala Harris blasted Donald Trump as a threat to women’s freedoms and their very lives, warning in a speech in the battleground state of Georgia on Friday that Republicans would continue to choke off access to abortion if he returns to the White House. The Democratic vice president’s visit came days after ProPublica … Read more

US will let more people take methadone at home

US will let more people take methadone at home

The first big update to U.S. methadone regulations in 20 years is poised to expand access to the life-saving drug starting next month, but experts say the addiction treatment changes could fall flat if state governments and methadone clinics fail to act. For decades, strict rules required most methadone patients to line up at special … Read more

Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa

Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — Rwanda has started a vaccination campaign against mpox with 1,000 doses of the vaccine it obtained from Nigeria under an agreement between the two countries, the African health agency said Thursday. The vaccinations started Tuesday targeting seven districts with “high risk populations” who neighbor Congo, Dr. Nicaise Ndembi from the Africa Centres … Read more

Why is Congo struggling to contain mpox?

Why is Congo struggling to contain mpox?

KAVUMU, Congo — Health authorities have struggled to contain outbreaks of mpox in Congo, a huge central African country where a myriad of existing problems makes stemming the spread particularly hard. Last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks in Congo and about a dozen other African countries a global health emergency. And in … Read more

A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads

A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads

KAMITUGA, Congo — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she wept into her shirt for the child … Read more

Man who sold fentanyl-laced pill liable for $5.8 million in death of young female customer

Man who sold fentanyl-laced pill liable for .8 million in death of young female customer

LOS ANGELES — In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller. What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also … Read more

WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease

WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease

GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Friday it has granted its first authorization for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa. The approval of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors like vaccines alliance Gavi and UNICEF can buy … Read more

Limits to anti-nausea pill coverage wear on cancer patients and doctors

Limits to anti-nausea pill coverage wear on cancer patients and doctors

Cancer patients can ward off waves of vomiting after treatment with a relatively cheap anti-nausea pill, but some are running into coverage limits. Doctors say restrictions on the number of tablets patients receive can hurt care. Pharmacy benefit managers say their limits guard against overuse, and they offer workarounds to get more tablets. In between … Read more