The Columbian

Health Wire

After SCOTUS hearing, a new look at baby ‘safe haven’ laws

December 26, 2021, 6:02am Health

For years, Nicole Olson had longed for a baby and gone through a rigorous and emotional adoption process. Then Olson and her husband got a call asking if they’d like to adopt a newborn. That day. As soon as possible. Read story

Episcopal Hospital, part of Temple Health, on East Lehigh Avenue at Front Street on Dec. 13, 2021, in Philadelphia. There have been two suicides and two fires inside the hospital, in its mental health wards.

Three suicides, two fires: How a hospital lost control during COVID

December 26, 2021, 6:02am Health

On March 30, 2020, Angelique Benrahou’s parents picked up the phone and plunged into the unimaginable. Read story

Mattresses and mold removal: California to offer unconventional treatments to asthma patients

December 26, 2021, 6:02am Health

Growing up amid the dusty agricultural fields of the Central Valley, Ruby Marentes-Cabrera can’t recall a time when it wasn’t difficult to breathe. Read story

Courtney Martin, left, a nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center, gives the first shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Ani Hahn, 7, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, in Seattle. Last week, U.S. health officials gave the final signoff to Pfizer's kid-size COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opened a major expansion of the nation's vaccination campaign to children as young as 5. (AP Photo/Ted S.

What you need to know about omicron and COVID in Washington

December 26, 2021, 6:00am Editor's Choice Free

With COVID-19 cases on the rise nationwide and many people ready to travel to meet loved ones for the holidays or get some sun during a much anticipated winter break, you seem to have a lot of questions. Crosscut can help. Read story

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on June 10, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Raskin, whose son took his own life, believes the exclusion many life insurance policies impose for suicide does not reflect a contemporary understanding of depression as a serious disease.

Torn by family tragedies, a Maryland widow and Rep. Jamie Raskin question insurance companies’ suicide rules

December 26, 2021, 5:47am Health

The Tudor home in Silver Spring, Maryland, remained filled with the couple’s shared possessions — books, eclectic art, musical instruments — but suddenly felt achingly empty. Read story

This image provided by Pfizer in October 2021 shows the company's COVID-19 Paxlovid pills. U.S. health regulators on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.

EXPLAINER: What COVID-19 therapies are available in US?

December 24, 2021, 8:39am Business

The U.S. recently added two new weapons to its small arsenal against the coronavirus: pills that patients can take at home to treat COVID-19. Read story

Omicron now dominant virus strain in King County, Western Washington

December 23, 2021, 8:19pm Health

A Seattle hospital leader said Thursday that omicron has become the dominant coronavirus strain in King County and much of Western Washington. Read story

FILE - A health worker administers a dose of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic at the Norristown Public Health Center in Norristown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted revised guidelines on Thursday, Dec. 23, that are loosening rules that call on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive for COVID-19. Those workers will be allowed to come back to work after seven days if they test negative and don't have symptoms.

U.S. sets shorter COVID-19 isolation rules for health workers

December 23, 2021, 3:26pm Health

Worried that a new COVID-19 wave could overwhelm understaffed U.S. hospitals, federal officials on Thursday loosened rules that call on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive. Read story

Holiday travelers wearing face masks line to check in at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W.

To grandmother’s house or no? Omicron disrupts holiday plans

December 23, 2021, 8:36am Health

Dave Fravel and his wife invited several relatives to their Cape Cod home for Christmas to share food, gifts and the togetherness they’ve longed for during the lonely days of the pandemic. They were also looking forward to a holiday sightseeing trip to New York City. Read story