Health Wire

An information sign is displayed as a child arrives with her parent to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11-years-old at London Middle School in Wheeling, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y.

Virus surge worsens in Midwest as states expand boosters

November 18, 2021, 1:24pm Health

A surge in cases in the Upper Midwest has some Michigan schools keeping students at home ahead of Thanksgiving and the military sending medical teams to Minnesota to relieve hospital staffs overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. Read story

FILE - Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney, gives his closing argument during Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 15, 2021. Mental health advocates say that during closing arguments, Richards dangerously implied that people with mental illnesses are homicidal and need to be killed.

Rittenhouse trial arguments worry mental health advocates

November 18, 2021, 9:11am Health

The first man Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was “irrational and crazy,” Rittenhouse’s attorney told jurors at his murder trial. Read story

Judge hearing Washington’s case against 3 opioid distributors gets a medical history lesson

November 18, 2021, 7:47am Health

Medicinal morphine, derived from opium poppies, triggered the country’s first major opioid epidemic in the late 19th century, with imports and consumption of medical opiates tripling between 1870 and 1890. Read story

Latest COVID-19 numbers in Washington: More than 9,000 dead

November 18, 2021, 7:44am Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 Washington residents, according to the Washington state Department of Health. On Wednesday, the agency reported 2,189 new COVID-19 cases and 27 new deaths. Read story

This photo provided by Nancy Sack shows Carter Lange, Kim Gustavson, Jason Lange, Matthew Gustavson and Travis Gustavson.

U.S. overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say

November 17, 2021, 1:03pm Health

An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Read story

WHO: Europe is only region with increasing COVID deaths

FILE - Funeral house employees drag a coffin on a trolley as they arrive at the University Emergency Hospital morgue to take a COVID-19 victim for burial, in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. In much of Eastern Europe, coronavirus deaths are high and vaccination rates are low, but politicians have hesitated to impose the measures curb the virus that experts are calling for. A World Health Organization official declared earlier this month that Europe is again the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

November 17, 2021, 9:02am Health

The World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased. The U.N. health agency said confirmed cases jumped 6% globally, driven by increases in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Read story

Health Wire

Virus surge worsens in Midwest as states expand boosters

Rittenhouse trial arguments worry mental health advocates

Judge hearing Washington’s case against 3 opioid distributors gets a medical history lesson

Latest COVID-19 numbers in Washington: More than 9,000 dead

U.S. overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say

White House: 10% of kids have been vaccinated in 1st 2 weeks

WHO: Europe is only region with increasing COVID deaths

Callers to global helplines voiced similar pandemic worries

Pfizer asks U.S. officials to OK promising COVID-19 pill

2nd group of states challenges health worker vaccine mandate