Health Wire

FILE - Kevin Hoyt rolls along as he exercises using a paraplegic-friendly mountainboard that was adapted for his use, July 8, 2017 along the Jordan River Parkway trail in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates are complaining that they were not consulted enough on what amounts to a major overhaul in how disabilities would be defined by the federal government.

The Census Bureau wants to change how it asks about disabilities. Some advocates don’t like it

December 9, 2023, 6:02am Health

The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change how it asks people about disabilities, and some advocates are complaining that they were not consulted enough on what amounts to a major overhaul in how disabilities would be defined by the federal government. Read story

Dr. Johanna Beck pumps while answering the phone in her office at Jefferson on 8th and Chestnut St. in Philadelphia on Nov.

Breastfeeding at work is ‘mentally and physically taxing’ even in the best conditions

December 9, 2023, 6:00am Business

Breastfeeding has been a major part of psychiatrist Johanna Beck’s life for most of the last three years. It’s required careful planning, persistence, and three different kinds of breast pumps so she can express milk while continuing her work tasks and seeing patients. Read story

Patients expected Profemur artificial hips to last. Then they snapped in half

December 9, 2023, 5:39am Health

Bradley Little, a physical education teacher in Arizona, was leading his class through a school hallway in 2017 when he collapsed. Little feared he was having a stroke. Or, in a sign of the times, that he’d been shot. He tried to stand, but his leg wouldn’t move. Read story

FILE - Nancy Rose, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and exhibits long-haul symptoms including brain fog and memory difficulties, pauses while organizing her desk space, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. Rose, 67, said many of her symptoms waned after she got vaccinated, though she still has bouts of fatigue and memory loss. U.S. health officials estimate 3.3 million Americans have chronic fatigue syndrome — a bigger number than previous studies have suggested, and one likely boosted by patients with long COVID, according to results released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is not rare, says new CDC survey. It affects 3.3 million U.S. adults

December 8, 2023, 3:26pm Health

Health officials on Friday released the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million. Read story

State veterinarian warns of respiratory illness affecting WA dogs with one case in Clark County

December 8, 2023, 7:41am Health

Dog owners should keep an eye on their pets’ coughs, Washington’s state veterinarian warns, as an unidentified respiratory canine illness has reached dogs in the state. Read story

PNW’s primary blood supplier eases restrictions on gay and bisexual men being donors

A technician holds some bags of fresh blood at a blood drive hosted by Bloodworks Northwest in Vancouver in 2015.

December 7, 2023, 10:47am Health

Bloodworks Northwest, the primary blood supplier to hospitals in the Pacific Northwest, announced this week that it has eased restrictions on donations by gay and bisexual men, bringing it in line with new Food and Drug Administration guidance. Read story

The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks during an event on prescription drug costs, in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 29, 2023, in Washington. The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. It’s warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, they might allow other companies to make their product. Under the new plan, the government would consider overriding the patent for high-priced drugs that have been developed with the help of taxpayer money.

December 7, 2023, 8:08am Health

The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice, warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions. Read story