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Health Wire

Proposed PFAS rule would cost companies estimated $1B; Lacks limits and cleanup requirement

July 22, 2023, 1:02pm Health

A proposed federal rule calls for forcing companies to disclose whether their products contain toxic “forever” chemicals, the government’s first attempt at cataloging the pervasiveness of PFAS across the United States. Read story

What you need to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads

July 22, 2023, 5:04am Business

In recent months ominous ads about prescription drugs have flooded the TV airwaves. Perhaps by design, it’s not always clear who’s sponsoring the ads or why. Read story

Toxic chemicals from flame retardant found in Puget Sound area moms’ breast milk

July 21, 2023, 7:28am Health

Washington in 2007 was the first to ban some flame retardants commonly used in furniture or televisions with known adverse effects to babies’ developing brains. Then came their replacements: more toxic chemicals. Read story

Officials: Potentially lethal fungus detected in Pierce County man

July 20, 2023, 6:53pm Health

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department on Tuesday reported what is believed to be the state’s first locally acquired case of a potentially lethal fungus infecting a Pierce County man. Read story

Smoke billows from the Donnie Creek wildfire burning north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, on Sunday, July 2, 2023.

Will your COVID-19 mask protect you from wildfire smoke? It depends on what kind of mask you have

July 20, 2023, 7:31am Health

When is wildfire smoke harmful to my health? What are its effects? Can I wear a surgical mask to protect myself? Read story

Study: Extreme heat increases summer health care costs by $1 billion in ‘ominous trajectory’

July 19, 2023, 8:41am Health

A new study from Virginia Commonwealth University published by the Center for American Progress has reported that the heat wave running rampant across the U.S. is significantly inflating health care costs. The authors of the study — an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff and students from the university — estimated… Read story

FDA issues recall for 348,616 Medtronic defibrillators over potential cardiac arrest risk

July 19, 2023, 8:22am Business

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its most serious type of recall for 348,616 Medtronic defibrillators, saying they are at risk for delivering “a reduced-energy shock or not shock at all,” which could lead to cardiac arrest for a patient. Read story

Deborah Sampson, left, a nurse at a University of Washington Medical Center clinic in Seattle, gives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot to a 20-month-old child, June 21, 2022, in Seattle. The U.S. on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022 open doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for most children younger than age 5. The Food and Drug Administration's decision aims to better protect the littlest kids from severe COVID-19 at a time when children's hospitals already are packed with tots suffering a variety of other respiratory illnesses, too. (AP Photo/Ted S.

WA loses $2.5 million in federal money for vaccine programs

July 18, 2023, 7:39am Health

Washington has lost about $2.5 million through federal cuts that will hit childhood vaccination programs and immunization data-tracking efforts, both of which state officials say grew during the pandemic but are now at risk of crumbling. Read story

King County to distribute bleeding control kits, starting with schools

July 18, 2023, 7:39am Health

Emergency management agencies across the Puget Sound region will distribute over 1,700 bleeding control kits in an effort to make potentially lifesaving tools more accessible. Read story