Category: Drugs
King County and the City of Seattle will no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
With King County’s high level of vaccination booster uptake and lower levels of community spread, hospitalizations due to COVID infection remained at a safe level, making the overall risk forecast low enough to lift the mandate for employees, volunteers, and contractors.
NEW CASE OF MEASLES IN KING COUNTY
The individual was at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Providence Swedish First Hill while infectious. Anyone who was at these locations within the time span that this person passed through may have been exposed to measles.
Child Vaccination Rates, Already Down Because of COVID, Fall Again
Child vaccination rates dipped into dangerous territory during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were shuttered, and most doctors were only seeing emergency patients. But instead of recovering after schools reopened in 2021, those historically low rates worsened. Experts fear that the skepticism of science and distrust of government that flared up during the pandemic are contributing to the decrease.
More States Are Doing What They Can to Cap Insulin Costs
In response to the steep rise in out-of-pocket costs for insulin over the past two decades — enough to compel many diabetic patients to ration their use of the medicine — nearly two dozen states have passed measures in the past few years capping the out-of-pocket costs for some patients.
China’s COVID situation is dire – but it shouldn’t pose a big risk to other countries
In contrast to China at the outset of this wave, most countries by now have high immunity and protection against severe disease and death from COVID. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has noted that China’s surge “is not expected to impact the COVID-19 epidemiological situation” in Europe.
COVID in 2023 and beyond – why virus trends are more difficult to predict three years on
So how will the pandemic be felt in 2023? This question is in some ways impossible to answer, given a number of unknowns. In early 2020 the scientific community was focused on determining key parameters that could be used to make projections as to the severity and extent of the spread of the virus. Now, the complex interplay of COVID variants, vaccination and natural immunity makes that process far more difficult and less predictable.
Get help paying for prescriptions
Many Washington residents need help paying for prescription drugs. The Washington Prescription Drug Program (WPDP) offers a state-sponsored program to provide savings to Washingtonians through the ArrayRx discount card.
As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe
Wearing a surgical mask in an indoor public setting reduces the odds of testing positive for COVID-19 by 66%, and wearing an N95/KN95 type of mask lowers the odds of testing positive by 83%.
Local health officials and health system leaders in Washington state urge public to wear masks while in indoor spaces, keep up-to-date on vaccines
In addition to RSV and influenza, new COVID-19 variants are taking hold and immunity from past vaccination is waning for many people who have not yet received an updated booster shot.
As Overdose Deaths Rise, Few Emergency Rooms Offer Addiction Help
Medical professionals and addiction treatment advocates have long argued that buprenorphine, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, should be available in every emergency room in the country — just like drugs for heart attacks, strokes and diabetic emergencies. And they argue that emergency physicians should have basic training in addiction medicine and be licensed to write a take-home prescription for buprenorphine.
The longer you can avoid Covid, the better
The “no point delaying infection” argument falls down in a number of places. First, infections aren’t risk free. Second, better treatments and vaccines are on the horizon.
Cannabis is no better than a placebo for treating pain – new research
Although cannabis (and cannabis-derived products, such as CBD) may be widely used for reducing pain, how effective it really is in doing this is still unclear. This is what our recent systematic review and meta-analysis sought to uncover. Our study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests cannabis is no better at relieving pain than a placebo.
Study challenges “good” cholesterol’s role in universally predicting heart disease risk
Lower levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with increased risks for heart attacks in white but not Black adults, and higher levels were not protective for either group. the study was the first to find that lower HDL cholesterol levels only predicted increased cardiovascular disease risk for white adults.
Post-‘Roe,’ Contraceptive Failures Carry Bigger Stakes
The failure rate for typical use of birth control pills is 7%. For every million women taking pills, 70,000 unplanned pregnancies could occur in a year. According to the most recent data available, more than 6.5 million women ages 15 to 49 use oral contraceptives, leading to about 460,000 unplanned pregnancies. Even seemingly minuscule failure rates of IUDs and birth control implants can lead to surprises.Even seemingly minuscule failure rates of IUDs and birth control implants can lead to surprises. Some 4.8 million women use IUDs or implants in the U.S., leading to as many as 5,000 to 20,000 unplanned pregnancies a year.
COVID-19, RSV and the flu are straining health care systems – two epidemiologists explain what the ‘triple threat’ means for children
The underlying reasons for the convergence of these viruses and the increase in infections so early in the season are not yet clear. But health experts have some clues about contributing factors and what it could mean for the coming months.